Longnose Gar

The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of the abundance of Lepisosteus osseus (Longnose Gar) in the Altamaha River estuary, Georgia, USA. During the summers of 2019–2022, we marked 428 Longnose Gar that were captured as bycatch during gill- and trammel-net surveys for other species. No individuals were recaptured, so we could not estimate abundance. We also conducted a small study of tag retention on 3 captive Longnose Gar. Those individuals retained their marks for at least 24 weeks, suggesting that tag loss was not a viable explanation for our lack of wild Longnose Gar recaptures. Other potential explanations include trap aversion, delayed mortality, high mobility of individuals, or that the Altamaha River estuary supports a robust population of Longnose Gar.