Didymo, also called rock snot, can produce thick algal mats along stream bottoms, sometimes becoming so hefty they alter stream habitats and make fishing difficult. It’s now been found in the Tuckasegee River. 

The algae spreads easily, but water users can help contain it by:

• Removing any visible mud, plants or animal matter from equipment before transporting it. 
• Draining water from equipment before transport. 
• Cleaning and drying anything that comes into contact with water. 

This is the fourth time in a little over a year that a nuisance aquatic species has been discovered in Western North Carolina, coming on the heels of the December 2014 discovery of gill lice in the Cullasaja River in Macon County and the August 2015 discovery of another gill lice species in three water bodies in Haywood and Watauga counties. In July 2015, whirling disease was confirmed for the first time in the state, found on rainbow trout in the Watauga River near Foscoe. 

“It is important that we all work to help prevent the introduction and spread of these nuisance organisms by being good stewards of our state’s aquatic resources that we all care for and enjoy,” said Jacob Rash, coldwater research coordinator for the Wildlife Resources Commission.

www.ncwildlife.org/fishing/whirlingdisease/anglergearcare.aspx.