Longnose Gar

The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of the abundance of Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus) in the Altamaha River estuary, Georgia, USA. During the summers of 2019–2022, we marked Longnose Gar that were captured as bycatch during gill and trammel net surveys for sturgeon. Over the 4 years of this study, we marked 434 individuals and recaptured none. We also conducted a small laboratory study of tag retention on three captive Longnose Gar. Those individuals retained their marks through the conclusion of the lab study at 24 weeks, suggesting that tag loss was not a viable explanation for the complete lack of recaptures of wild Longnose Gar. Combined, these results suggest that the Altamaha River estuary supports a robust population of Longnose Gar.