re: Is the Increasing Popularity of Alligator Gar Fishing threatening the resource?

quote:

---

I can't understand why people would shoot big bucks - letting non-!shooters walk. Same thing with Aligators. The bigger they are the more outdoorsmen want to take them; but have a problem with taking the trophy alligator gars and turtles.

---

As far as deer and alligators go, reproduction is much lower at older ages. Deer mature at a much younger age.

Most sources place sexual maturity for snapping turtles, alligator gar, and alligators at 10 to 12 years. The difference is, alligator harvests are heavily regulated, while turtle and alligator gar harvest are not, and have never really been in Louisiana.

The limited information on population status across the range of both also leads to a lot of the problems people have with it. The general concensus is that the population of alligator gars and snapping turtles are in decline across their ranges, with few places (like Texas for A. Gar) reporting strong populations.

Many places, like Illinois (until the recent "catch"), report that the gar is extirpated.