River pollution has decimated many freshwater species,
but one group is restocking them as the rivers are restored.
Image credit: USDA
Transcript of the Audio Podcast:
Fish in troubled waters…on this CurrentCast.
Streams in the southeastern U.S. hold an incredibly diverse population of freshwater fishes, mussels, snails, crayfish, insects, and amphibians, but runoff from human activity on land is taking a toll.
Rakes: “Unfortunately, at least a third of those species are in such steep decline that they are in danger of going extinct in many instances.”
That’s Patrick Rakes, co-director of Conservation Fisheries. To help preserve these species, Rakes and his team capture fish from healthy streams, raise them in special tanks until they have enough to restock – and then release the fishes back into restored streams.
Support for CurrentCast comes from the Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas. Learn more online at http://www.current-cast.org.
Learn More:
- Conservation Fisheries Inc.
- “Silent Streams” from National Geographic
- “The Southeast Freshwater Extinction Crises” from The Center for Biological Diversity
