LARVAL STAGE
UNDER A MICROSCOPE

The rod and reel world record alligator gar weighed 290 lbs, and the trot line, or unrestricted division record weighed 302 lbs. Both were caught in the Rio Grande River back in the 1950s, and measured a little over 7 and a half feet in length. 

Alligator gars are widely sought after by bowhunters, but a much smaller following of anglers fish for them for sport. Texas and Louisiana permit regulated commercial fishing for alligator gars, but the demand is nominal. 

Many researchers see gars as a link between the scientific research of today, and what has evolved from a primitive past. They can breathe both air and water, which is one of the reasons they are still around today. They are quite hearty, and seemingly indestructable. However, if we continue at unsustainable rates of development, destroying important habitat for gars and other species of fish and wildlife, we cannot be optimistic about the future.