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Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)
Tue Jun 25, 2019, 07:14 PM Jun 2019

Missouri Scientists Fight To Save A Fish With Teeth Like An Alligator

On a hot morning in Cape Girardeau, two men pulled up nets from a lake in hopes of catching alligator gar, one of the largest and most feared fish species in North America.

They’re scientists with the Missouri Department of Conservation, which has spent 12 years trying to restore the alligator gar’s dwindling population in the state. Its numbers in Missouri have fallen partly because the state doesn’t have strong regulations to prevent overfishing of the species.

Man-made structures like levees and dams have also separated the Mississippi River from the floodplain. They block the alligator gar from reaching critical habitat, said Solomon David, an aquatic ecologist at Nicholls State University in Louisiana.

“We've really altered sort of the natural patterns of how some of these large river systems work and therefore prevent some of these species from accessing spawning grounds that they need in order to reproduce,” David said.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-scientists-fight-save-fish-teeth-alligator

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Missouri Scientists Fight To Save A Fish With Teeth Like An Alligator (Original Post) Sherman A1 Jun 2019 OP
I've seen these fish, and they definitely have the teeth!! I imagine that the Lake of the Ozarks... SWBTATTReg Jun 2019 #1
Solution: Ban fishing for the alligator gar and install heavy fines for possession of this fish. democratisphere Jun 2019 #2
They should import some from Texas. nocoincidences Jun 2019 #3
We have plenty in Arkansas. TomSlick Jun 2019 #4

SWBTATTReg

(21,859 posts)
1. I've seen these fish, and they definitely have the teeth!! I imagine that the Lake of the Ozarks...
Tue Jun 25, 2019, 07:21 PM
Jun 2019

also has had a negative impact...the gars I've seen were in the Niangua River basin (near Bennett Spring) and was really something to see.

nocoincidences

(2,195 posts)
3. They should import some from Texas.
Tue Jun 25, 2019, 07:27 PM
Jun 2019

They're in the lakes the rivers and even the streams, which is scary as hell.

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