Season of the Gar, by Mark Spitzer. Book Review by Don Orth

Mark Spitzer is a professor, angler, explorer, and writer.  His recent books about fishing include Return of the Gar (2015), Beautifully Grotesque Fish of the American West (2017), and In Search of Monster Fish: Angling for a More Sustainable Planet (2019).  In his first book about fishing, Season of the Gar,  Spitzer chronicles his adventures in catching and releasing the monster gator gar, or Alligator Gar Atractosteus spatula. Since he was a child, Mark Spitzer dreamed of catching a monster gator gar or le poisson armé (the armored fish), as the French explorers referred to it.  

 

Season of the Gar book cover.  (c) University of Arkansas Press.

The book is written for a general audience interested in a romp through the world of gar and his pursuit of the monster gator gar. There are fishing stories, photos, and more. His personal quest weaves through stories that reflect on ongoing change in human perspectives on the gar. Catching an Alligator Gar is not so easy. They are not abundant today and occur in large floodplain rivers of the delta region of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas.  We learn just how hard those toothy jaws can be when Mark attempts to impale them with a barbed hook.  

Most gar are caught by accident by commercial fisheries or targeted by bowhunters. Unfortunately, those who learn to catch gator gar with bowfishing, trot lines and heavy-duty equipment often leave them dumped by the truckload or turned into fertilizer.  I was, of course, intrigued by his quest and enjoyed his writing which gave me a surreptitious view of gator gar fishing.  He does not capture a gar until chapter 5, "The Existential Fish-Life Crisis."  When he hooked his second monster gar it was just as Jack Harper described in Outdoor Life (1950) “They call him gar.  His mother is a hurricane and his father is a ring-tailed tornado, and when he’s mad he’s one fish wave of destruction.” But this gar was not landed. 

Alligator Gar. Illustration by Duane Raver  Public Domain Source

In addition to sharing in Spitzer’s many quests to catch a gator gar, we learn the many sad stories of misinformation about the Alligator Gar, gar attacks, and much more.  Alligator Gar are second only to the Lake Sturgeon as true freshwater leviathans.  During the twentieth century, gars were viewed as harmful by most anglers and even fisheries managers.  Richardson (1914, p 407) in a paper on breeding habits of fishes in the Illinois River warned that "Certainly if our commercial fisheries are to be properly conserved, stringent measures will have to be taken against these 'weeds' and 'wolves' among fishes."   This sentiment was based only on visual observations of adult Shortnose Gar Lepisosteus platostomus and -- not based on any scientific evidence of harm.  Fish and Fishing in Louisiana labeled the gars as voracious pests that “are responsible for the destruction of great numbers of useful and valuable fishes.” Yet this warning went unchallenged for nearly a century and numerous populations of Alligator Gar were depleted.  Mark Spitzer reveals the many instances of directed efforts to exterminate gars, including a description of the Electrical Gar Destroyer deployed by the Texas Game Fish and Oyster Commission.  Up until recently most states had no limits on harvesting gars.  Scarnecchia (1992) reported that even by late 1980s it was not even legal to release gar alive in Iowa. Section 109.114 stated that "It shall be unlawful for any person to place any gar pike in any waters of the state, and such fish when taken shall be destroyed."  Tarzwell (1945) explored the possibility of commercial fishing for rough fish in TVA reservoirs. Too often the gars were simply thought of as a rough fish problem to be solved and not a resource to protect and conserve. Spitzer writes of fish markets in Arkansas that cannot supply the demand for gar meat which fetches a prices higher than catfish fillets.  Researchers investigating feeding habits of gar support the view that consumption of game fishes is minimal.   Texas is now the leader in implementing management plans for the Alligator Gar and other states are following.     

In Spitzer’s chapter on “Gar and Loathing in Texahoma” we first meet Capt Kirk, the Alligator Gar catch-and-release guide (he hates stupid bow hunters who dump their kill). Capt Kirk eventually assisted with Spitzer’s first landing of a monster gar, six feet and five inches.    In "When Gars Attack," we learn about questionable stories about gar attacks. In "Messy Nessy Gar Myths" we learn of reports all across North America, but especially in the South where gar are most plentiful, of long, serpentine, land-locked leviathans often posted on Chamber of Commerce websites. Spitzer even explores the evolutionary relation with the fossil fishapod Tiktaalik roseae and the gar.  The reader will also learn a bit about policy -- the Lacey Act, care and feeding of young gar in "Frankengar," Jeremy Wade and Bubba the bowhunter guide from Garzilla in "Gar in the Balance," "Gar Wrangling in Arkansas," and Arkansas’ difficult history with the Alligator Gar.   Alligator Gar is now officially the State Primitive Fish of Arkansas. And Illinois passed a resolution to protect gars in Illinois.  

Alligator Gar caught from Moon Lake, Mississippi, in 1910. Spitzer notes that experts challenge the legitimacy of this photograph because the stomach seems to be more slack than usual (for its size) and the fins and tail are unnaturally flared. Photo by D. Franklin. Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History, image # 117075.

If you like books about unusual fishing, you’ll love this book. You’ll learn many gar facts and appreciate how long it takes to change human perceptions about rough fish.   You’ll appreciate the message of the ecological importance of gars as apex predators -- watch this short video.   You too will want to pursue a monster gator gar and realize why a guide helps.  You’ll learn how large Alligator Gar really get in modern times and that the biggest gar are always female fish.  Finally, you’ll learn how to clean and prepare a gar with one of Spitzer’s favorite recipes.  

Solomon David, in the #GarLab, Nicholls State University, is one of the gar's biggest advocates.  Here pictured with Alligator Gar skull that measures over 25 inches long and 11 inches wide.  

Mark Spitzer writes “Gar still don’t register on the mainstem radar as a creature worth preserving.”  Unfortunately, that is true. We’ve come a long way from describing Alligator Gar as ugly, mean, and loathsome and long-needing scientific findings are emerging. Reading the final chapter "Long Live the Gar" reinforced my belief that Alligator Gar need protection so that future generations can marvel at this fascinating ancient fish.  A special issue of Transactions of the American Fisheries Society was devoted to studies of these and other ancient fishes last year.   When you finish reading Season of the Gar, you will find the latest scientific findings there.   Or perhaps you'll come back for more of Mark Spitzer's adventures in Return of the Gar.

References

Buckmeier, D.L. 2008. Life history and status of the Alligator Gar Atractosteus spatula, with recommendations for management.  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  Accessed 10 July, 2019 from https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/nonpwdpubs/media/gar_status_073108.pdf.

Richardson, R. E. 1914. Observations on the breeding habits of fishes at Havana, Illinois, 1910 and 1911. Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History Article 8, Urbana.   Accessed 10 July, 2019 from  https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/35136#page/471/mode/1up

Scarnecchia, D.L. 1992.  A reappraisal of gars and bowfins in fisheries management.  Fisheries 17(5):6-12.

Spitzer, M. 2010.   Season of the Gar: Adventures in Pursuit of America's Most Misunderstood Fish. The University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville.  167 pp.  

Tarzwell, C. 1945. The possibilities of a commercial fishery in the TVA impoundments and its value in solving the sport and rough fish problems.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 73:137-157.  

Why Alligator Gar Need Floodwaters, by Don Orth

Can we save one of the largest fish in North America with floodwaters?  The Alligator Gar Atractosteus spatula is the largest of seven species of Gar found in Central America, Cuba, and North America.  The IGFA world record is 279 pounds, but larger ones have been reported indicating that that can grow up to ten feet and and 350 pounds. An 8 ft. Alligator Gar weighed 254 pounds with a girth of 44 inches was snagged in Lake Texoma and is the largest fish ever caught in Oklahoma waters. Alligator Gar are imperiled due to reduced abundance and diminished range.  In the past, little attention was paid to management or conservation of Alligator Gar. However, Alligator Gar are vulnerable to overfishing and rivers in its range are highly altered due to dams, dikes, dredging, and other forms of habitat and flow alteration.  A recent investigation reported by Robertson et al. (2018), confirmed suspicions that the Alligator Gar are dependent on seasonal flooding in large floodplain rivers.

The gar family (Lepisosteidae) have been around since the Cretaceous Period (~100 million years  ago.  Gars and bowfin are the sister group to other teleost fishes and, therefore, of interest to evolutionary biologists. The largest gars are in the genus Atractosteus, the three extant species are Alligator Gar (or Catan in Mexico), the Cuban Gar A. tristoechus or Manjuari from western Cuba, and the Tropical Gar A. tropicus (or Pejelagarto) from southern Mexico and Central America. Among these three, the Alligator Gar is most imperiled. Gar are fascinating and misunderstood creatures, and unfortunately, the influence of habitat restoration for gars has not yet been fully explored.  Efforts are now underway to restore these magnificent creatures via supplemental stocking.  It will take many years, up to 50 years, for stocked Alligator Gar to reach the potential maximum sizes.  Supplemental stocking is an uncertain and expensive short-term strategy.  Until natural spawning and rearing habitats can be restored, supplemental stocking is necessary.

Alligator Gar that weighed 108 pounds was sampled May 27, 2015 by Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Creative Commons by NC-ND-2.0. Source.

Ten-foot long Alligator Gar photographed in 1920 from Mhoon Landing, Mississippi River. Public Domain

Managers need to understand what drives populations of Alligator Gar if the species has any chance to be restored throughout its range (O'Connell et al. 2007; Buckmeier et al. 2017).  Although the effects of hydrologic modification of rivers is well document, the prevailing questions related to re-establishing ecologically sustainable flows, such as "How much?" and "How often?" remain unanswered (McManamay et al. 2013).  Fully mature Alligator Gar may produce 157,000 large eggs (2-4 mm in diameter).  These BOFFFF (= big old fat fecund female fish) need do be protected and we also need to provide habitat so that they will spawn naturally.  What is suitable habitat?  The life history of Alligator Gar is tuned to life in floodplain rivers where spawning is synchronized with the high flow pulse events (Buckmeier et al. 2017).  The Robertson et al. (2018) study examined the extent of potential spawning habitat in the Trinity River, downstream from Dallas, Texas. Trinity River is supports guided fishing for trophy size Alligator Gar and is becoming a model for Alligator Gar management elsewhere. 

Map of Spawning Habitat in Floodplains of Trinity River, Texas.  Robertson et al. (2018)

This research used hydraulic models to predict water surface elevations and digital elevation models from LIDar (Light detection and ranging) data. These fine scale models quantified the extent to which floodwaters inundated large expanses of vegetated habitats in low lying floodwaters.  Alligator Gar spawning habitat was mapped as floodwaters between 0.2 and 2 meters deep over woody vegetation and open canopy vegetation types. The plot below shows a dramatic increase in total spawning habitat available as the river flow increases enough to spill onto the floodplains. 

Plot of area of Alligator Gar spawning habitat versus river flow.  Robertson et al. (2018).

We now have the making of a 'Field of Dreams' hypothesis.  If you build it, they will come.   If floodwaters are held back in reservoirs for release at another time, Alligator Gar may not receive the cue to initiate the courtship and spawning behavior.  However, if we create large expanses of spawning habitat, will the breeding Alligator Gar come and spawn?   Amount, duration, and timing of spawning habitat appeared to correlate with years of exceptional Alligator Gar recruitment in the Trinity River (Robertson et al. 2018).  Larval Alligator Gar are only about 8 mm long upon hatching.  These fish that may grow to ten feet, yet start off as tiny fragile larvae.  Larvae must attach to substrates with an adhesive organ on the snout.  If the flood pulse is artificially shut off after spawning, recruitment will be reduced.  The longer duration of the flood pulse enhances nursery habitats for young Alligator Gar.

In 2014, Kimmel et al. (2014) witnessed spawning of Alligator Gar in floodplain habitat in the Mississippi river floodplains at St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge.  A large aggregation of Alligator Gar was observed in a flooded ditch, lined with buttonbush, shrubs, and herbaceous vegetation four miles from the main river channel.   These spawning observations help to validate the habitat suitability criteria used by Robertson et al. (2018). 

Spawning behavior displayed by Alligator Gar observed by Kimmel et al.  (2014) in floodplains of St. Catherine Creek, near Natchez, Mississippi. 

Eggs of Alligator Gar deposited in woody debris and vegetation.  Kimmel et al.(2014).

The lessons from the Trinity River study give us optimism for population restoration here and elsewhere.  The demand for water from the Trinity River is growing from population centers of Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston and flood-pulse management may provide for periodic strong Alligator Gar recruitment.  Gar production in hatcheries may help, but they provide an uncertain number of offspring (Schmidt 2015).  While many are experimenting with spawning Alligator Gar (Mendoza et al. 2002), for example the USFWS does hatchery spawning of Alligator Gar, the restoration of natural habitat when and where it is needed has the best likelihood for long-term sustainable populations. 

Larva of the Spotted Gar Lepisosteus oculatus.  Photo by Konrad P. Schmidt.

References

Buckmeier, D.L., N.G. Smith, D.J. Daugherty, and D.L. Bennett. 2017. Reproductive ecology of Alligator Gar: Identification of environmental drivers of recruitment success.  Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 4:8-17.

Kimmel, K., Y. Allen, and G. Constant. 2014. Seeing is believing: alligator gar spawning event confirms model predictions.  Website  https://lccnetwork.org/blog_entry/seeing-believing-alligator-gar-spawning-event-confirms-habitat-suitability-index  Accessed June 20, 2018.

McManamay, R. A., D.J. Orth, J. Kauffman, and M.M. Davis. 2013.  A database and meta-analysis of ecological responses to stream flow in the south Atlantic region.  Southeastern Naturalist 12(Monograph):1-36. 

Mendoza, R., C. Aguilera, G. Rodríguez, M. Gonz.lez, and R. Castro. 2002. Morphophysiological studies on alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) larval development as a basis for their culture and repopulation of their natural habitats. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 12:133–142.

O’Connell, M. T., T. D. Shepherd, A. M. U. O’Connell, and R. A. Myers. 2007. Long-term declines in two apex predators, bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) and alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula), in Lake Pontchartrain, an oligohaline estuary in southeastern Louisiana. Estuaries and Coasts 30:567–574.

Robertson, C.R., K. Aziz, D.L. Buckmeier, N.G. Smith, and N. Raphelt.  2018.  Development of flow-specific floodplain inundation model to assess Alligator Gar recruitment success.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society DOI: 10.1002/tafs.10045

 

Schmitt, K.  2015. Gar farming.  American Currents  40(4):3-9