Re-introduction of the yellowfin madtom in the upper Tennessee River drainage, Tennessee and Virginia, USA

Summary

The yellowfin madtom (Noturus flavipinnis), a federally threatened catfish once presumed extinct until its 1968-1969 rediscovery, is one of four listed fish species targeted since 1986 by Conservation Fisheries, Inc. of Knoxville for reintroduction to Tennessee's Abrams Creek, using eggs and larvae collected annually from the isolated source population in nearby Citico Creek and reared at CFI's hatchery, since captive breeding attempts proved largely unsuccessful and unnecessary for the program's goals. Over the 20-year program, more than 1,800 madtoms have been released into Abrams Creek, where the species now reproduces, recruits and disperses at densities often rivaling the Citico Creek source population, sustaining itself without further stocking since 2002. Beginning in 2003, the effort expanded to the Tellico River under Endangered Species Act nonessential-experimental-population status, with over 1,900 fish stocked and wild reproduction observed nearly continuously since 2008 across multiple age classes. All released fish undergo pre-release parasitological, bacterial and pathogen screening, and a genetics study funded through the Tallassee Fund tracks gene flow between the Citico, Abrams and Tellico populations of all four target species to inform future fish-passage strategy. Major difficulties included historical cattle grazing degrading Abrams Creek headwaters, since remediated through a multi-agency riparian restoration effort, and recreational campers building rock dams that disturb madtom nesting habitat. The project rates itself Successful, citing self-sustaining populations at both reintroduction sites and a meaningful extension of the species' geographic range.