Species Spotlight
This section is designed to provide information on a variety of species that benefit from the alliance of three Fish Habitat Partnerships known as Whitewater to Bluewater. Each page acts as a fact sheet, with a particular species as the poster child. These fact sheets provide information on life history, habitat requirements, range and various restoration efforts funded by the Partnerships. They also provide fun facts about the spotlighted species. Check them out!
Alligator Gar
The alligator gar is the largest of seven species of gar found in North America, Central America, and Cuba. New all-tackle world record alligator gar weighed 327 lbs and was estimated at 99 years old by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists. The fish was caught from Lake Chotard in Mississippi by a commercial fisherman; however, historic observations and photographs suggest they can attain weights and lengths of up to 350 lbs. and 10 feet in length. This species, the largest in the Mississippi River Valley, once had a range that spread across most large river systems and tributaries from the Gulf of Mexico states of the U.S. and Mexico upstream into the Ohio River Valley. However, recent surveys suggest populations are far below historic levels and could be declining further. In some northern states they are believed to have been extirpated or reduced in number to non-vaible populations requiring reintroductions through stockings in some locations. For these reasons they have been identified as an imperiled species by the American Fisheries Society and a focal species of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Numerous states have already or are in the process of increasing conservation and management through regulations, habitat restoration, and stocking.
