Yellowfin Madtom - Current Management

Current Management

The yellowfin madtom is federally listed as a threatened species and as endangered in both Tennessee and Virginia. Bad agricultural practices around the shallow creeks and streams where N.flavipinnis resides has decreased the population and has made it difficult for the yellowfin madtom to recover. Efforts to increase the population of the yellowfin madtom began in 1986 at the University of Tennessee and later moved to Conservation Fisheries, Inc.(CFI) in Knoxville. Since the population was to low to take individuals away from Citico Creek, eggs were taken from nests and reared in aquatic laboratories at CFI. CFI was also allowed to maintain a captive adult population to breed inside their aquatic laboratories. From 1986 until 2003, two to three yellowfin madtom clutches were taken from Citico Creek for captive propagation to be stocked into Abrams Creek. Finally, the captured yellowfin madtom were released into both Abrams Creek and Citico Creek irregularly to try to restore a population and save a population respectively. The yellowfin madtom has had a 53% survivorship rate among its captured egg clutches and new yellowfin madtom have been found in Abrams Creek almost every year since 1994. In 2003, though only nine yellowfin madtom were found in Abrams Creek, they were believed to be wild spawned since tagged fish had not been released since 2001, marking what looks to have been a successful project in restoring the yellowfin madtom in Abrams Creek. In order to help the restoration project in Abrams Creek, the National Park Service, US Forrest Service, University of Tennessee, and Tennessee Valley Authority have taken up the duty to improve the water and habitat of Abrams Creek. The groups helped to remove cattle and restore riparian vegetation around Abrams Creek and its tributaries. The hope is that the restoration of the Abrams Creek habitat decreases its silt content which has been proven to be the yellowfin madtom’s worst enemy.