FISHES
Carolina Pygmy Sunfish Monitoring
by Brena Jones, Central Region Aquatic Wildlife Diversity Coordinator
S taff continued annual monitoring surveys for the Carolina Pygmy Sunfish, a State Threatened species endemic to Columbus and Brunswick counties in NC and small portions of the coastal plain in SC. Of eight previously occupied localities sampled in October, Carolina Pygmy Sunfish were col- lected at four. Carolina Pygmy Sunfish are persisting and 2024 catch per unit effort (CPUE) ranged from 0.5 to 80.5 individuals per person hour. This maximum CPUE exceeded any previous year’s value and was nearly double the former record of 44 indi- viduals per person hour.
Carolina Pygmy Sunfish monitoring results by year. Black line indicates average CPUE values, with vertical black bars indicating maximum and minimum CPUE for each year. 2018 sampling was conducted two months after Hurricane Florence.
Robust Redhorse Population Augmentation
by Brena Jones, Central Region Aquatic Wildlife Diversity Coordinator
I n October of 2024, 13,650 Phase I (6 months old) and 24 Phase II (18 months old) Robust Redhorse fingerlings raised at the NCWRC’s McKinney Lake Fish Hatchery were stocked into the Pee Dee River in NC. These fish were the progeny of adults collected in the Pee Dee River spawning shoals in NC in the spring of 2023 and 2024. In November of 2024, another 2,702 Phase I fingerlings raised at the SCDNR Dennis Center were stocked in the same location.
60 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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