Comments on: Alligator Gar Sighted in Tokyo River

By: scosmo451

scosmo451 — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:17:08 +0000

People who release from aquariums really bug me, and I have no doubt that’s what happened here. There’s no excuse for that kind of irresponsibility.

Oh, btw, isn’t the white sturgeon the largest freshwater fish in North America?

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:25:53 +0000

cryptocajun- It’s interesting that you mention snapping turtles, because that is another species that has been increasingly popping up around Japan as well. There has been quite a few cases of these animals being found in ponds around the country. I partly blame the poorly regulated pet trade in Japan. There are many, many species such as the snapping turtles that are increasingly available for the pet trade here and an alarming increase in the types of exotic species that are for sale. You can go into a department store and buy snapping turtles, monitor lizards, marmosets, and all manner of animals that have no business being there.

Although there is a blacklist for dangerous invasive species in Japan, an animal first must go under review and demonstrate that it has become a threat in order to get on it, which by then it is too late.

Anyway, it is interesting to hear of these other cases of out of place alligator gars popping up around the world. I suppose since it could be considered a “cool looking fish” (yes, that’s a scientific term ), then many aquarists purchase them without any idea of what they are getting themselves into. That happens all the time already with more available species such as oscars and arawanas. As alligator gars become more popular, this is bound to occur from time to time.

By: Sharmz

Sharmz — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 23:18:07 +0000

Smaller gars have been captured here in Malaysia too. A friend caught one on his line in a pond near my house. Big arapaimas were captured in a river a few years back.

By: cryptocajun

cryptocajun — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:36:06 +0000

There were reports of an alligator gar found in the Phoenix metro area a few weeks ago. Strange how they seem to keep popping up all over the globe. I am from New Orleans so have had a lot of experience with these fish and its good to see that their numbers are holding strong. I have also been hearing about alligator snapping turtles being found in non-native geographic areas lately.

By: Sordes

Sordes — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:10:22 +0000

Several years ago (2004) there was already another case in which a much smaller gar of around 25 cm was caught at China by factory workers. It was probably no alligator gar, but a smaller gar species. In some regions of Thailand there are also fishing lakes which are stocked with all kinds of non-native fish species, including alligator gars and even arapaimas.

By: dogu4

dogu4 — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:04:41 +0000

Ironic that this news comes as the unintentionally introduced exotic asian carp are making their presence felt in the Great Lakes region of the Missisisippi here in the USA. Cheers.