Bonita Creek Monitoring Report September/October 2015
Marsh & Associates (M&A) with assistance from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) visited lower Bonita Creek, Graham Co., Arizona to sample fishes September 29 to October 2, 2015. This monitoring is part of a long-term program initiated by BLM to evaluate relationships between populations of native and non-native fishes.
Total effort was 373, 373, and 20 overnight sets for Gee, Promar, and hoop nets, respectively. Total catch (all netting methods combined) was 896 fathead minnow, 775 western mosquitofish, 172 Gila chub, 162 yellow bullhead, 94 green sunfish, 20 Sonora sucker, 3 Sonora mud turtle, and 1 Northern crayfish. Total catch per unit effort (CPUE) was 2.77 fish per net set. Catch per unit effort for combined native fish species (Sonora sucker and Gila chub) was 0.25 per net set and CPUE for targeted non-native fish species (yellow bullhead and green sunfish) was 0.33 fish per net set.