Tiny Catfish Species Pulls Back From Near-Extinction In Smokies

November 15, 2005

Release from: Associated Press

GATLINBURG - Biologists say two decades of recovery efforts have brought a species of tiny catfish back from the brink of extinction in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The three-inch-long smoky madtom was once thought to be extinct, after a routine fish kill was conducted in Abrams Creek in 1957 to improve trout fishing. Scientists thought they had wiped out the population of the newly discovered species.

University of Tennessee researchers found madtoms in Citico Creek in the Cherokee National Forest in 1980.

Aquatic biologist Jim Herrig says there are now strong populations of smoky madtom in Citico Creek and Abrams Creek. Herrig says a population of the fish in the Tellico River is also making good progress.