Lepisosteid Fish Research and Management Committee

We are currently tagging alligator gar in the Red and Arkansas Rivers in Oklahoma for assessments of population abundances, survival and mortality rates, and exploitation rates.  We are attaching two, 24 to 28 gauge aluminum butt-end bands (bird bands) to the jaws of each fish.  Each band is individually numbered 100-399 and reads "OK State Univ., 405-744-6342".

 To date, we have tagged and released 43 alligator gar into Lake Texoma and the Red River above the lake.  These fish could also potentially be found in the Red River and its major tributaries below the dam following recent floods which topped the spillway. 

We will tag fish in the Arkansas River November 2007-April 2008.  Our collections will be bounded by Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam on the Arkansas River at the down stream end and Eufaula Dam on the Canadian River, Tenkiller Dam on the Illinois River, Chouteau Lock and Dam on the Verdigris River, Ft. Gibson Dam on the Neosho River, and Tulsa County line on the Arkansas River at the up stream ends.

I tag all adults collected prior to either releasing them  back into the wild or transporting them back to the hatchery where they are used for brood fish.  Some are just too big to handle in the hatchery so I just simply tag and release those.  I implant PIT tags on the right side of the dorsal fin.  All fish tagged up to this point in our work are listed here.

Juveniles that are released into TN waters are tagged with coded wire tags.  They also are tagged on the right side of the dorsal fin.  We would like to have used PIT tags for marking the juveniles with individual numbers.  However, tight budgets, higher fish numbers and cost of PIT tags negated our chances to go this route.  At least with the cwt's we can differentiate hatchery fish from wild fish at some point in the future. Files of all PIT tagged fish and all hatchery stockings from PJA NFH can be found here.