<< http://www.nanfa.org/magazine/alligator.htm >>
Informative article. I had no idea that they were in so much trouble.It
sickens me to think that some fisherman would kill any gars or bowfins in the
ignorant belief that they will kill all the other fish or because they
consider them to be "trash" fish. The belief that they will kill all the
other fish shows a real lack of common sense because if they were capable of
doing that there would be no other fish existing right now. As for the
perception of them as "trash" fish people need to know ways to prepare them
for food as well as special ways to catch gars like the gar "rodeo". Knowing
how much of a fight bowfins will put up on hook and line would intrigue
fisherman that don't normally seek them out as a desirable sport fish.This
could be an aspect of the education program NANFA'S putting out; it would
seem that according to this article the perception of fish that are in the
"rough" fish category as "trash" to be sought out and destroyed this can
contribute greatly to their decline. Most fishes have enough problems with
habitat alteration and pollution, exotics without being deliberately hunted
with no restraint.
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