The next best thing since Shark Week: Gar Week!
Appreciation of native plants has grown substantially over recent years, for good reasons! Native plants provide food for pollinators like butterflies and bees, are responsible choices for water friendly landscaping, reduce stormwater runoff in rain gardens, and are integral to the local ecosystems they're adapted to.
What doesn't get as much attention, and should, are aquatic ecosystems and the native fish in them. And one fish family with a range across Eastern half of the US - from the Great Lakes basin through the Mississippi River, from Texas to Florida, and as far south as Mexico, Costa Rica and Cuba - are a classic standout: Lepisosteidae, or Gar.
I think it's important to look at these non-game native species as important components of native biodiversity.
Dr. Solomon David
Classic is putting it lightly - gar have been around for a long, long time! The gar family of fish goes back 150 million years - older than the dinosaurs! Seven species still exist today: alligator, Cuban (critically endangered), Florida, longnose, shortnose, spotted (classified endangered in Canada), and tropical.
The alligator gar is the oldest species of the seven, first emerging around five million years ago. They haven't changed much in that time - a timeless look.
Unfortunately, gar don't always get the appreciation they deserve. They are potentially an invasive species outside of their native habitat (where they should never be released and reported if seen), but where they belong they're often looked at as a "garbage" or "trash" fish, threatened by practices including unregulated bowfishing.
However, progress is being made and more people are learning to appreciate these ancient freshwater giants. And in 2022 the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and Gar Lab (led by Gar-thusiast Dr. Solomon David) established a dedicated time on Twitter to share and celebrate everything about these gargantuan freshwater fishes: and the first-ever Gar Week was born!
Read about gar fish! Check out these reads and podcasts: Alligator Gar: 100 Million Years Old and Still Kicking; The 7 Wonderful Gar of the World; Fish Of The Week: Alligator Gar + Q&A with Dr. Solomon David; All Hail the Alligator Gar, a Giant and Primordial River Monster; Science Friday: Why Native Fish Matter.
Take a trip to your local aquarium or watch a video to see gar in action: Younger Kids: Bizzare Beasts: Meet the Air Breathing Fish with Poisonous Eggs Older Kids: GAR WARS: The Battle To Save This GIANT Fish!.
Look up if gar live in your own local waterways, and learn what species can be found!
The author and her Mom visiting gar exhibits at the Belle Isle Aquarium, Detroit MI
Create!
Make some gar fan art! Think of some fun gar puns (there are 6 in this blog!). Create some gar memes! The more awareness about these underappreciated fish, even the silly kind, the better - there's even a 2023 Gar Week Spotify Playlist!
Showing off drawing made for Gar Week 2022
Participate!
Hop on social media and join others celebrating Gar Week 2023! Bring your newfound knowledge to a trivia game on Wednesday, share your creations to social media, learn about not only gar but other native freshwater species, aquatic invasive species, what you can do to help, and more - including chances to win one of a kind stickers! Follow @OKWildlifeDept (Twitter/X) (Instagram) & @TheGarLab (Twitter/X) and look below for the full schedule!
Share!
Post your creations or favorite facts learned on social media for Gar Week and throughout the year. With your newfound knowledge, talk to the fishers in your friends and family about the importance of non game native fish like gar. When teaching children how to fish, talk about native fish, how to avoid spreading invasive species and polluting waterways, and the importance of a healthy aquatic ecosystem. If your state doesn't have catch limits on gar, write your local lawmakers and state agency in charge of fishing regulations and ask them to consider a possession limit. And finally, encourage others to protect clean water!
