Drought Prompts Endangered Fish Rescue
The Tennessee Aquarium and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service launched a fish rescue on November 22. The historic drought conditions had reduced the number of locations where the federally endangered Laurel Dace are found. Most of the streams where these brightly colored fish are found have dried up, leaving only a few shallow pools. Only 18 Laurel Dace were recovered and brought back to the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute for an "ark population," in case this species disappears in the wild. Hopefully these 18 fish will reproduce in the spring allowing scientists an opportunity to bolster the diminishing populations of Laurel Dace in Tennessee.
