Alligator Gar Research in Texas Helps Protect Trophy Fishery

ATHENS — Despite being one of the largest freshwater fish species in North America, scientists knew little about alligator gar until relatively recently. In the last two decades, knowledge about the species has grown tremendously in response to evidence that alligator gar populations are declining in many areas.

The primary reasons alligator gar have declined throughout much of their historic 14-state range are loss of floodplain habitats necessary for reproduction (from reservoir construction and river channelization) and overfishing. As a result, the American Fisheries Society has considered alligator gar...