The June sucker is a unique species of fish that only occurs naturally in Utah Lake. It is one of four species in a group of fish known as “lake suckers” that make up the genus Chasmistes, these species differ from other species of suckers primarily from their feeding behavior which involves filtering invertebrates out of the water column instead of feeding on the bottom of a lake. The June sucker has played a role in the history of Utah, as it was a major food source for native people and sustained those who settled Utah Valley.
The June sucker was federally listed as an endangered species in April 1986. Factors contributing to its endangered status included impacts to its natural habitat, water development, and predation or competition with nonnative fish. The primary reasons for listing were its localized distribution, failure to recruit new adult fish to the population, and the threats to its continued survival.
In the 1800’s, the June sucker population is estimated to have numbered in the millions. Those numbers declined to the point of requiring listing as an endangered species in the mid 1980’s. Following listing in 1986, the number of June sucker in Utah Lake continued to decline, although efforts were made to implement captive breeding programs. By the late 1990’s the wild population of June sucker was estimated to be less than 1,000 adults. Due to efforts by the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program, that decline has been reversed and the population has started to rebound. We now have tens of thousands of June sucker living in Utah Lake and spawning in its tributaries.