News

Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman was on the Tar River last week, searching underwater for the elusive Carolina madtom (Noturus furiosus), a small catfish found only in North Carolina.

Katey met up with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission fisheries biologist Michael Fisk and his team of three to scour the Tar River near Oxford.

“We parked our trucks on the side of the road in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, put on wetsuits, got all the gear together, walked through the woods, climbed down the banks then walked down the river a mile to the starting point where we began snorkeling,” Katey said.

The five madtom-seekers spread out in a line across the river, perpendicular to the banks, searching for the fish that likes to hide beneath leaves and woody debris. It takes a good eye, as the madtom maxes out at 5-inches.

“It was a really cool experience to do this with a trained team that’s done this before,” Katey said. “We all had nets in our hands in case we found one, and I used the pole end of the net to move aside debris.”

The Carolina madtom received federal protection as an endangered species in 2021, according the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website. Their greatest threat is degraded water quality — they need clean, flowing water to survive. The remaining populations are small, isolated, with a contracted range that makes them vulnerable to catastrophic and natural events. On the three occasions Fisk has surveyed this stretch of the upper Tar River, only one other madtom has been been found, Katey said.

Another was found last Thursday — which meant success for the team.

“They’re not very common to find anywhere now. There are certain characteristics of waterways that they like, such as faster flowing water, so that’s pretty much the upper Piedmont,” she said. “It’s definitely not common to find a bunch of them.”

The madtom located on this trip has been relocated to an aquatic conservation laboratory to hopefully propagate more of the endangered species.

Like the work your Riverkeeper is doing to help protect endangered species? We certainly do! Donate today to support your Riverkeeping team!