CFI Newsletter: May 2023
Happy Spring from CFI!
Bluemask Darter - Photo by Joel Sartore
Happenings in the Hatchery
This is one of the most exciting time of the year in the hatchery. We’ve got nearly month-old larvae from our early spring spawners, like Leopard Darters and Roanoke Logperch, and most of our other species actively spawning, such as our Boulder Darters and Bluemask Darters. It’s about time for us to go out and collect nest eggs from the wild for species that we rear in the hatchery like our Yellowfin Madtoms and Duskytail Darters. And last but not least we’re eagerly awaiting our late spring & summer spawners, such as Spotfin Chub and Barrens Topminnows, to begin laying eggs.
You may be wondering how we manage so many babies from so many species! In recent years CFI has adapted to a Species Lead concept, which allows for each species to have one of our biologists as a primary lead. The Species Lead will set up spawning habitat, perform maintenance on recirculating systems, collects eggs and larvae from our breeders, and will raise those eggs and larvae all the way up to a releasable size. The Species Lead is also prioritized when it comes to field work regarding each species, which truly allows each biologist a full circle species experience when it comes to the fish they are working with.
Species Spotlight
Crystal Darter - Crystallaria asprella
Crystal Darter in the CFI hatchery - Photo by Derek Wheaton
While CFI finished out our project working with Crystal Darters at the end of last year, we’d be remiss if we didn’t showcase these neat little fishes!
CFI’s work with Crystal Darters ran from 2014-2017, and again from 2021-2022 to develop propagation protocols as a species that could be used as a ‘surrogate species’ for the federally Endangered Diamond Darter, Crystallaria cincotta. Crystal Darters and Diamond Darters are the only members of the Crystallaria genus, so although Crystal Darters are a species of concern it is more ethical to develop propagation protocols using this more common species before working with the extremely rare Diamond Darter.
To develop propagation protocols we first needed to set them up in tanks in a way that mimics their natural environment. While most species require an adequate amount of cover for the fish to hide and hangout under in their tanks, Crystal Darters burrow in the substrate. Therefore, their tanks were void of cover, but with plenty of substrate for burrowing and laying eggs. After the eggs are laid we allow them to hatch in the breeding tank, and then we passively collect the larvae and begin feeding them a specialty diet of very small, live foods.
To our delight we were successfully able to propagate several hundred larval Crystal Darters! CFI doesn’t anticipate working with this species again because we feel confident about the propagation protocols that we’ve come up with, but we hope to be able to try our hand at propagating Diamond Darters very soon.
Save the Date! Upcoming Events
CFI Biologists at our Pretentious Beer Co. Pint Night on 3.22.23
5.19.23: Endangered Species Day in the Old City
Endangered Species have a special place in the hearts of CFI biologists as the majority of species we work with at any given time are federally listed as Endangered on the Endangered Species List. We wanted to use this day to celebrate these incredible species and showcase the work that we do every day to give these species a fighting chance in the wild.
Riverside Tattoo Flash Fundraiser: During the day artists at Riverside Tattoo will be showcasing flash designs. Each design costs a $150 donation to CFI and can be placed on arms or legs.
Merchants of Beer: From 5pm-9pm, $1 from any beer sold at Merchants will benefit Conservation Fisheries! We’ll be set up there all evening, so come on out and say hey! We’ll have giveaways, merch, and the company of some great fish biologists!
6.21.23: Clinch River Brewing Pint Night
Our June Pint Night will be held at Clinch River Brewing in Norris, TN. Conservation Fisheries biologists will be at the brewery with merch and giveaways! $1 from any beer sold that evening will benefit CFI.
7.25.23: Hidden Rivers Showing & Pint Night at Yee-Haw Brewing Co.
Hidden Rivers, a documentary showcasing the conservation efforts and biodiversity of Southern Appalachia by Freshwaters Illustrated, features CFI and our colleagues across the region doing the important recovery work to help maintain the unparalleled freshwater biodiversity in our area. Come on out to Yee-Haw for a beer (where $1 of each sold will benefit CFI), the hour-long documentary, and a Q&A session afterwards with CFI biologists!
Spring Highlights
Roanoke Logperch photo to be used for the Endangered Species stamp collection, photographed by Joel Sartore at CFI
Save the Fish Live at Albright Grove Brewing Co.
Just a few weekends ago on 4.29.23 our neighbors at Albright Grove Brewing Co. hosted a ticketed live music concert benefitting CFI’s conservation efforts. We couldn’t be more grateful for the partnership we’ve created with Albright! If you’re ever in the mood for some great music and even better beer, head on over to Albright on Sutherland Ave.
Visit from Joel Sartore
We’re always thrilled to host our friend Joel Sartore, National Geographic photographer, at the hatchery to photograph our fish! Over the last several years all of the species that we’ve worked with professionally are a part of Joel’s Photo Ark. Additionally, we have been featured in his book “Rare: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species. On May 19th our Roanoke Logperch will be featured in a U.S. postage stamp collection honoring Endangered species across the country!
New CFI Merchandise
Conservation Fisheries, Inc. Tangerine Darter hats
Hot off the presses!
Looking for a vintage inspired summer t-shirt? How about a baseball cap featuring Tennessee’s favorite darter? Look no further! Our newest CFI merch features a t-shirt with a River Chub spawning mound and a beautifully embroidered Tangerine Darter baseball hat! T-shirts are available in adult sizes Small-3X and kids sizes Small-Large. These shirts are not pre-shrunk, so please order sizes accordingly. Hats are adjustable and available in olive, khaki, and grey.
All CFI merch orders will now be shipped out on Mondays, pending any field work . If you’ve placed an order please be expecting a shipping notification the Monday following your order date. If you place your order on a Monday, we cannot guarantee that it will be shipped out the same day and will likely be shipped out the following Monday.
Outreach Survey
Calling all former CFI workers…
CFI is working on compiling feedback both from former workers (employees and volunteers alike) and folks who have had the opportunity to tour our hatchery. Regarding former workers we are hoping both to reconnect with anyone who we may not have seen or spoken to in a while and also compile some data about where former CFI workers have continued their careers. Are you still in the field? If so, where? If not, what are you up to now?
Please fill our our Former CFI Worker Questionnaire
…or anyone who has taken a tour of our hatchery!
For anyone who has toured our facility we’re hoping to gain some feedback on your experience at CFI. What did you learn while you were here? Is any of that applicable to your current job or education? Additionally, is there anything that we could do differently or do to better connect our work with new or existing partnerships?
If this is applicable to you, here is our CFI Post-Tour Feedback Survey.
Any feedback is much appreciated!
Partner Feature & Facility Update
Removal of woody invasives on our property, mid-removal
To prepare for our facility expansion, CFI has plans to utilize much of the land behind our building for more hatchery space, an outreach patio, and an educational landscape filled with native plants. Incorporating native plants into our space demonstrates the importance that these plants have, even in an urban environment. In order to fully maximize the use of this land we’ve first needed a plan to clear the many invasive plant species that have taken over much of the back portion of our lot. To do this, we’ve partnered with Mergoat Land Design and Restoration who has started coming out to our property to begin clearing. After the first few days the space looks almost unrecognizable, and we couldn’t be happier about it!
In addition to clearing the invasives, we also have plans with Mergoat for our landscaping needs in conjunction with the facility expansion. They’ll be designing our native plant installations and constructed wetland in the back of the property, welcome gardens in the front, and all forms of natural water retention and stormwater management.
In addition to the incredible native-focused landscaping that Mergoat does, they also have a magazine showcasing the native ecologies of Southern Appalachia and their connection to activism in the broader southeastern United States. If you have any interest in interdisciplinary ecology or the restoration of native species, we highly recommend Mergoat Mag! The first edition of their magazine features an article by Evan Poellinger with photos by Derek Wheaton, both biologists with Conservation Fisheries.
We couldn’t be happier to have fostered this partnership with such an incredible organization, and we’re looking forward to the work that we’ll be doing together!
Gratitude
As always, thank you all so much for your support of our mission! It’s a busy time of year but we’re very excited to be incorporating more outreach and community-centered events and fundraisers to our year. If you’re unable to make it to our events or are not local to us, we are always accepting donations through our website and selling merchandise through our store. We, and the fish, appreciate you all!
— The CFI Team