A Detailed Description of the fish: On May 12, 2023 an alligator gar measuring less than 2 feet was caught while de-weeding process in Dal Lake of Kashmir near Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC). Since Kashmir is the region where such a species is not found, so the search to find more of the same was taken on. The alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) is a ray-finned euryhaline fish related to the bowfin in the infraclass Holostei / hoʊˈlɒstiaɪ/. It is the largest species in the gar family, and among the largest freshwater fish in North America. Gars are often referred to as “primitive fishes”, or “living fossils” because they have retained some morphological characteristics of their early ancestors, such as a spiral valve intestine, which is also common to the digestive system of sharks, and the ability to breathe both air and water. The body of an alligator gar is torpedo-shaped, usually brown or olive, fading to a lighter gray or yellow ventral surface. In very rare occurrences, they can also be black, seen in gars that have a high level of melanin. Unlike other gar species, the upper jaw of an alligator gar has a dual row of large, sharp teeth that are used to impale and hold prey. Alligator gar are stalking, ambush predators, primarily piscivores, but they also ambush and eat waterfowl and small mammals they find floating on the water’s surface. Populations of alligator gar have been extirpated from much of their historic range as a result of habitat destruction, indiscriminate culling, and unrestricted harvests. for nearly a half century, alligator gar were considered “trash fish”, or a “nuisance species” detrimental to sport fisheries, and were targeted for elimination by state and federal authorities in the United States. Over time, alligator gar was afforded some protection by state and federal resource agencies. They are also protected under the Lacey Act, which makes transporting certain species of fish in interstate commerce illegal when in violation of state law or regulation. Several state and federal resource agencies are monitoring populations in the wild, and have initiated outreach programs to educate the public. Alligator gar are being cultured in ponds, pools, raceways, and tanks by federal hatcheries for mitigation stocking, by universities for research purposes, and in Mexico for consumption.
Physiology:
Alligator gar have gills, but unlike other species of fish, with few exceptions, they also have a highly vascularized swim bladder lung that supplements gill respiration. The bladder not only provides buoyancy, but also enables them to breathe in air, which is why they are able to inhabit bodies of water in which most other fishes would die of suffocation. The swim bladder is connected to their fore gut by a small pneumatic duct, which allows them to breathe or gulp air when they break the surface, an action seen quite frequently on lakes in the Southern United States during the hot summer.
Feeding behavior:
Alligator gar are relatively passive, seemingly sluggish solitary fish, but voracious ambush predators. They are opportunistic night predators and are primarily piscivores, but they also ambush and eat water fowl, turtles, and small mammals that may be floating on the surface. Their method of ambush is to float a few feet below the surface, and wait for unsuspecting prey to swim within reach. They lunge forward, and with a sweeping motion, grab their prey, impaling it on their double rows of sharp teeth.Diet studies have shown alligator gar to be opportunistic piscivores, and even scavengers depending on the availability of their preferred food source. They occasionally ingest sport fish, but the majority of stomach content studies suggest they feed predominately on forage fishes such as gizzard shad as well as invertebrates and water fowl. However, brackish water populations of alligator gar are known to feed heavily on blue crabs in addition to fish such as the hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis). Diet studies have also revealed fishing tackle and boat-engine parts in their stomachs.
Spawning:
As with most ancestral species, alligator gar are long-lived, and sexually late maturing. Most females do not reach sexual maturity until after their first decade of life, while males reach sexual maturity in half that time. The conditions must be precise for a successful spawning to occur. Preparation for spawning begins in the spring with the extended photoperiod and rising water temperatures, but flooding is also necessary to trigger the event. When rivers rise and spread over the floodplain, they create oxbow lakes and sloughs, and inundate terrestrial vegetation, which in turn provides protection and a nutrient-rich habitat for larval fish and fry. Once the water temperature has reached 68 to 82 °F (20 to 28 °C), and all the other criteria are met, gar move into the grassy, weed-laden shallows to spawn. A common formula used for predicting the number of eggs a female can produce is 4.1 eggs/gram of body weight, which gives an average of about 150,000 eggs per spawn. The eggs of alligator gar are bright red and poisonous to humans if ingested.
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 1)
Alligator gar require a very large aquarium or pond, and ample resources for them to thrive in captivity. They are also a popular fish for public aquaria and zoos. In many areas, keeping alligator gar as pets is illegal, but they occasionally show up in fish stores.
Natural range: Alligator gar inhabit a wide variety of aquatic habitats, but most are found in the Southern United States in reservoirs and lakes, in the backwaters of lowland rivers, and in the brackish waters of estuaries, bayous, and bays. It occurs southward along the Gulf Coast of Texas, into Tamaulipas and northern Veracruz, Mexico, however, records from Nicaragua and Costa Rica are considered “suspect and refuted”. They have occasionally been seen in the Gulf of Mexico. In Texas and Louisiana, large gars are commonly seen breaking the surface in reservoirs, bayous, and brackish marshes. In 2016, there were efforts to reintroduce alligator gar between Tennessee and Illinois as part of an effort to control invasive Asian carp.
Outside Natural range: Alligator gar is an invasive species in Mainland China, where it can be purchased as an exotic pet. It has few natural predators there, and its poisonous eggs may pose a passive threat. The fish has been sighted in eight provinces, and authorities have worked to remove it. On September 4, 2009, a 3 ft 3 in (0.99 m) alligator gar was found in Tak Wah Park in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. Over the next two days, at least 16 other alligator gar, the largest measuring 4.9 ft (1.5 m), were found in ponds in public parks in Hong Kong. Nearby residents reported the alligator gar had been released into the ponds by aquarium hobbyists, and had lived there for several years. Likewise, Anecdotal reports have been made of alligator gar captured in various parts of India, but are believed to be the result of incidental releases by aquarium hobbyists and the like. In August 2015, an alligator gar was found entangled in cloth inside a well in Dadar, where it had been living for quite some time. It was rescued by animal activists and returned to the well unharmed. In June 2016, a 3.5-ft alligator gar was caught from Subhash Sarovar Lake in Kolkata. Other incidents over the years have been random, ranging from captures in coastal waters during environmental assessments to captures in private ponds.
Human Uses:
Anciently, Native Americans in the South, and Caribbean peoples used the alligator gar’s ganoid scales for arrow heads, breastplates and as shielding to cover plows. Early settlers tanned the skins to make a strong, durable leather to cover their wooden plows, and make purses and various other items. Gar oil was also used by the people of Arkansas as a repellent for buffalo gnats. Commercialization and aquaculture: Declining populations of alligator gar throughout their historic range have resulted in the need to monitor wild populations and regulate commercial harvests. Alligator gar have a high yield of white-meat fillets and a small percentage of waste relative to body weight. Fried gar balls, grilled filets, and fillets boiled in water with crab boil are popular dishes in the southern United States. There is also a small cottage industry that designs and sells jewelry made from the ganoid scales of alligator gar; some tan the hides to produce leather for making lamp shades, purses and a host of other novelty items. Atractosteus gars, including alligator gar, tropical gars, and Cuban gars, are considered good candidates for aquaculture, particularly in developing regions, where their rapid growth, disease resistance, easy adaptation to artificial feeds as juveniles, and ability to tolerate low water quality are essential. Their ability to breathe in both air and water eliminates the need for costly aeration systems and other technology commonly used in aquaculture.[50] Despite being considered “trash” or “rough” fish in most of North America, in regions of Central America and the southern United States they have become a popular food fish. Maintaining wild populations of gars has grown in importance to maintaining sustainable aquaculture for “local food production, the aquarium trade, and conservation of biodiversity”.
Sport fish: The long-time public perception of alligator gar as trash fish or a nuisance species has changed, with increasing national and international attention on the species as a sport fish, which some have attributed to features on popular television shows. Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana allow regulated sport fishing of alligator gar. Texas has one of the best remaining fisheries for alligator gar, and in concert with its efforts to maintain a viable fishery, imposed a one-per-day bag limit on them in 2009.
Aquaria: Despite the large size alligator gar can attain, they are kept as aquarium fish, though many fish labeled as “alligator gar” in the aquarium trade are actually smaller species. Alligator gar require a very large aquarium or pond, and ample resources for them to thrive in captivity. They are also a popular fish for public aquaria and zoos. In many areas, keeping alligator gar as pets is illegal, but they occasionally show up in fish stores. Alligator gar are highly prized and sought after for private aquaria, particularly in Japan. According to some reports, large alligator gar could fetch as much as US$40,000 in what some consider the “Japanese black market”. The LCMA, Lake Conservation and Management Authority has now collaborated with the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries division of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) to look for any other Alligator Gar fish in the lake. The authority will launch a massive hunt to ascertain whether it is just one fish, is it accidental or somebody has played mischief. Senior project officer at the fisheries department, said as of now, two Alligator Gar fishes have been caught. The fishes have been handed over to the Faculty of Fisheries, Rangil, Ganderbal,Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) for the study and research purposes and accordingly necessary measures will be taken to combat with the same. Since the Biological Diversity Act 2002, prohibits the presence of any kind of invasive fish species that can be hazardous to natural fish fauna.
(While Arizo Jan is a Research scholar at Fisheries Resource Management, S K University of Agriculture Sciences & Technology-SKUAST Kashmit, Dr. Bilal A. Bhat is Professor at Social Sciences, SK University of Agriculture Sciences & Technology-SKUAST Kashmir . The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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