By Makenzie Williams
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.– The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) alligator gar stocking program began in 2007 at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and has grown to extend throughout areas of Southeast Missouri. Taylor Bookout, MDC’s fisheries biologist, said restoration efforts have been sporadic but ongoing across the Bootheel since 2013, with more than 6,000 juvenile alligator gar being stocked in over a dozen locations.
“While this sounds like a large number, capture rates are actually low due to either low survival or that fish are moving into the wider watershed and are not overcrowding waterbodies they are stocked in. Only three of the species have been captured in recent years during population monitoring efforts,” Bookout said.
These stocking efforts are a multi-state partnership with MDC, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. The alligator gar are bred in Mississippi, where they are collected and then transported to Oklahoma to grow during the summer. Once they reach the appropriate size, they are transported to Missouri and stocked in suitable waters throughout the Bootheel.
Alligator gar may appear rough and dangerous, but they are an important part of our ecosystem. The species prefers to consume injured or sick fish that are easy to ambush. This important service helps maintain the health of our waterbodies and sport fish populations.
MDC recently stocked gar in the following locations:
- Hornersville Swamp Conservation Area (CA) in Dunklin County
- Twin Borrow Pits CA in Pemiscot County
- Donaldson Point CA in New Madrid County
- Thirty-Four Corner Blue Hole CA in Mississippi County
- Black Island CA in Pemiscot County
- Wilhelmina CA in Butler and Dunklin Counties
- Seven Island CA in Mississippi County
- Bird’s Blue Hole Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi County
Stocking locations are selected for their calm waters, which provide suitable habitat for young alligator gar to grow, as well as their frequent connection to larger river systems through flooding. These connections allow the gar to move in and out of stocking areas as water levels rise and fall, helping prevent overcrowding and allowing them to disperse into larger river systems such as the Mississippi, St. Francis, and Little River.
MDC staff and other agencies are working to change the stigma around the alligator gar. These fish are sometimes targeted by bow fishing, a practice that has increased in popularity within the southeast region. With increased bowfishing activity, there is also greater concern about protecting the few alligator gar found within the state.
MDC is working to educate the public about the importance of this species and its role in maintaining healthy fish communities.
It is important to remember that alligator gar are protected by state law and cannot be possessed or killed. The younger fish may be confused for the more common shortnose gar, so proper identification is important.
For more information on alligator gar, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/oGD
MDC is committed to accessibility at all of its nature centers, regional facilities, conservation areas, and public programs. To request ADA accommodation for participation in an MDC program, visit mdc.mo.gov/accessibility.
