One last post on this, public hearing is tomorrow

FROM TPW'S PROPOSAL:

Department data for the middle Trinity River indicate that between 1980 and 2010, strong reproductive success occurred in only five years (1980, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 2007). Furthermore, in 21 of the years between 1980 and 2010, reproductive success was nonexistent or weak, and in many of these years, rainfall was low or drought conditions occurred. Because the conditions for spawning do not exist on a regular or cyclical basis, and because spawning occurs in shallow waters where numerous gar can be concentrated in one area, alligator gar are extremely vulnerable to harvest during spawning. To protect alligator gar from excessive harvest during spawning, the proposed new rule would allow the executive director of the department to prohibit the take of alligator in an affected area.he proposed new rule would require the executive director to provide appropriate public notice when an affected area is declared and when lawful fishing for alligator may resume, and would limit the duration of a prohibition to no more than 30 days. The proposed new rule is necessary to manage alligator gar populations and ensure their ability to perpetuate themselves successfully.

Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts, comments, ideas, etc.

Winchester they are wrong there was a tremendous spawn in 1983 ..... TPWD biologist and most biologist that have been in my boat have no idea about alligator gar , I have had most if not all of them at 1 time or another . But they are trying I am going to the Palestine meeting tomorrow night also

Don't try to cloud the issue with facts, Duckhunter!

Just because he got one date wrong doesn't mean that all the other data indicating few spawning events over the past 15-20 years is incorrect.

We also need to be concerned with the size potential for these fish. Just how many 200lb+ fish are swimming around still? I can't help but think we should research/learn from what happened to the big Blue Cats in the Mississippi river. The gene pool for those massive 200-300lb blues are more than likely gone forever.

Good point, I'm afraid a lot of people think you can just re-stock from hatchery fish if you screw up the fishery. Those hatchery fish almost never do as well as the original genetically diverse wild fish.

Dave where are these 10'ers hiding nowdays? What happenened to them? I hear there are a few places in the USA that are still chocked full of gar but my insincts tell me they aren't chocked full of these nor anywhere else.

That Photo was taken in Mississippi. At the last national conference on alligator gar. Here is how the various states compared


Arkansas- Imperiled
Alabama- Imperiled
Florida- Vulnerable
Illinois- Possibly Extirpated
Indiana- Imperiled
Kentucky- Critically Imperiled
Louisiana- Apparently Secure
Mississippi- Imperiled
Missouri- Possibly Extirpated
Ohio- Possibly Extirpated
Oklahoma- Critically Imperiled
Tennessee- Critically Imperiled
Texas- Apparently Secure

Biologists are wrong here. They haven't spent near enough time or money to prove anything. Most people just don't know how too or where to find alligator gar............ Don't sign the petition!

Please go to Austin tomorrow to the public meeting and tell the Biologists and the commissioners that they suck at their jobs and that you know way more about Gar than they do.

As far as the petition, it doesn't matter if anyone else signs it or not. It has already been submitted, and is now closed.

Exactly! All they know is that they are declining nationally and they don't have enough data to confirm the harvest and conditions necessary for a long term sustainable population.

Below were my comments to the commission:

1. The alligator gar has a very similar life cycle to the paddlefish and sturgeon. That is, they are extremely long lived, take a relatively long time to reach sexual maturity and the largest and oldest fish are the mature females which carry the most eggs. The paddlefish and sturgeon have come very close to completely vanishing from the US. Only millions of tax payer dollars and draconian regulations have brought these fish back from the brink. However, financial constraints and severely compromised gene pools mean there are many waters they will likely never return to. In the last several decades the national trend of the alligator gar is moving in a similar unsettling direction. Historically alligator gar were present in 13 states. They are believed extinct in 3 of those states and listed as imperiled or critically imperiled in another 7 states. Texas and Louisiana are quite literally the only two places left on the planet where one can reasonably expect to catch an alligator gar as a sports fisherman.

2. It is my understanding that TPWD�s biologists freely admit that they do not have a complete understanding of the status of this fish statewide and have only begun to give it serious study in the last decade or so. In the absence of a complete picture and in light of the extremely negative national trend, I would urge the commission err on the side of a more conservative management strategy. Sustaining a genetically diverse wild population through passive harvest regulation is a far cheaper proposition than an active stocking program of genetically compromised hatchery fish to counter over harvest after the fact.

3. Whether or not the proposed regulation is the perfect answer is open to debate. However, I hope that the commission in working with their biologists, TPWD�s game wardens and the state�s sporting community have given thoughtful consideration to all parties in coming up with language that is reasonable, practical and enforceable. If alternatives are being considered, I would like to put forth the idea of a trophy tagging system similar to Red Drum for the large mature females. A trophy could further the goal of protecting the largest breeding females from over harvest while also providing valuable harvest estimates to the state�s biologists. This data could help TPWD make more qualified recommendations on water body specific regulations in the future.

4. Man is indeed the only predator that targets mature alligator gar. However, I believe intentional harvest is not this species� only significant problem. In countless conversations with many fishermen on this species several things are readily apparent. 1. Most fishermen are not aware that there are in fact different species of gar. 2. Almost none are aware of any regulations concerning the alligator gar. In fact I have spoken to numerous older fishermen who insisted it was illegal to release large gar if they were caught. 3. Many also believe that they feed soley on largemouth bass and consume many times their body weight every month. From my small perspective it seems there is a tremendous education gap where this species is concerned. Again a tagging system could help counter this as it would appear on every fishing license.

Nice

It was a little hard to hear, but I believe the new regulation just passed.
A big thanks for all those that signed the petition!

It passed.

http://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20140327b