Ugly but tasty aquatic creature found in Green River

VERNAL — It's ugly, a ferocious predator to other fish and was found late last month in the Green River below Flaming Gorge.

The good news about the burbot, a non-native fish from east of the Rocky Mountains, is that it is downright tasty and good for you.

The state Division of Wildlife Resources is hoping its call of "no limits" to an army of anglers will help to fish burbot right out of the river.

"We're concerned that burbot will negatively impact endangered fish and other native fishes in the Green River," said Krissy Wilson, the division's native aquatic species coordinator. "We've seen this happen before with other non-native fish, including northern pike, red shiner and smallmouth bass."

The division said biologists working on Flaming Gorge Reservoir have already noticed a rapid increase in the number of burbot in the reservoir and a corresponding decline in the number of kokanee salmon.

Closely related to ocean cod and blending a catfish and eel appearance, the spineless burbot is native to mostly the Great Lakes region of the United States and the waters of Alaska and Canada. It gets its name from the Latin word barba, or beard, for its single chin whisker. If anglers can get past their looks, burbot is actually mild to the taste and is called "poor man's lobster," according to a fishing guide put out by Utah Fish Finder.

A 21-inch burbot was captured July 28 during an electrofishing study the biologists were doing to recover and study endangered fish in the Green and Colorado rivers.

Biologists believe it likely came down the Green River after someone illegally introduced the species upstream in Big Sandy Reservoir in Wyoming. The burbot have worked their way downstream, bypassing dams at Big Sandy and Flaming Gorge.

As a result, the division announced a "no tolerance" fishing regulation on burbot in Utah, which means there is no limit to the number of burbot an angler can catch, none may be released if caught and they must be killed immediately upon capture.

Wilson says the division and its partners in the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program are working to determine the best way to deal with burbot, which is just the latest native aquatic threat discovered in Utah waterways.

Illegally introduced walleye at Red Fleet Reservoir will deplete that small fishery of rainbow trout and bluegill before they eventually turn on the smaller of their own kind to feed.

State biologists estimate it will cost millions and take several years to restore Red Fleet to its pre-walleye status.

Like the burbot, there are no limits to the number of walleye that can be caught at Red Fleet. They, too, cannot be released if caught and must be killed immediately.

For more information, call the wildlife division's Northeastern Region office at 435-781-9453.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com