Federal wildlife officials are loosening protections for a native fish in the Colorado River. The razorback sucker was downlisted from “endangered” to “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The move suggests progress in protecting the fish, but environmentalists say the species still struggles to survive in much of its habitat, and stronger protections were needed. The razorback sucker, which can grow up to 3 feet long and live for 40 years, is on a relatively short list of fish that live nowhere else in the world besides the Colorado River basin. Of the roughly 25 species on that list, four are protected under the endangered species act. Those fish face multiple threats in a river system that is getting drier and has been thoroughly altered by human activity.

Other fish protection news:

• National Fisherman: San Joaquin salmon restoration bill advances
• Good Times (Santa Cruz, Calif.): Monterey Bay salmon and trout project marks 50 years​