Detailed gar legality question on possessing and selling gar in Texas?

[Daggel]

I have been looking high and low on information as to whether it is legal for an individual to sell either wild or captive bred gar within Texas.

I have seen that it is legal to possess them, but is it legal only for captive bred or can you catch one and keep it?

Is it legal to sell captive only in texas, or can you sell wild caught as well within TX?

Thanks

 

[Wiggles92]

I have been looking high and low on information as to whether it is legal for an individual to sell either wild or captive bred gar within Texas.

I have seen that it is legal to possess them, but is it legal only for captive bred or can you catch one and keep it?

Is it legal to sell captive only in texas, or can you sell wild caught as well within TX?

Thanks

Send an email to the TPWD and see what they say since that's really the only way to ensure that you get an answer that's guaranteed to be correct.

By my best guess, odds are that you can't sell wild-caught gars (or any other wild-caught fishes, for that matter) in Texas. I didn't come across any concrete laws regarding the sale of wild-caught gars when I was researching for the "Gar Legality Around the World" thread, so I can't say for sure whether one can legally sell wild-caught gars in Texas or not which is why I recommended emailing the TPWD to get an answer from the governing body that's should be associated with controlling such endeavors.

 

[Daggel]

Send an email to the TPWD and see what they say since that's really the only way to ensure that you get an answer that's guaranteed to be correct.

By my best guess, odds are that you can't sell wild-caught gars (or any other wild-caught fishes, for that matter) in Texas. I didn't come across any concrete laws regarding the sale of wild-caught gars when I was researching for the "Gar Legality Around the World" thread, so I can't say for sure whether one can legally sell wild-caught gars in Texas or not which is why I recommended emailing the TPWD to get an answer from the governing body that's should be associated with controlling such endeavors.

Thanks, I had contacted them already but was waiting for a reply when I came across this website. I have some captive-bred spatulas that I want to sell, but I don't want to break any laws. I was worried about it when I ran across that story about those guys indicted for selling gar to the Japanese collectors.

 

[Wiggles92]

Thanks, I had contacted them already but was waiting for a reply when I came across this website. I have some captive-bred spatulas that I want to sell, but I don't want to break any laws. I was worried about it when I ran across that story about those guys indicted for selling gar to the Japanese collectors.

Ah, gotcha. I've heard that Texas is pretty touchy about about alligator gars, so I'd wait to see what the TPWD says before deciding your next move.

 

[HungDang]

it would take a long time for them to answer your email, expect a few months!
it is a federal law that prohibit export wild caught gar out of U.S, but I think you can sell them or throw them back in Trinity river!

 

[Daggel]

Ah, gotcha. I've heard that Texas is pretty touchy about about alligator gars, so I'd wait to see what the TPWD says before deciding your next move.

Yeah, touchy is the right word. One time, geez, 1989 or so, a friend of mine and I were spearfishing near PK dam on the Brazos. Being the teenagers that we were, we didn't care about laws and whatnot, it never crossed our minds. well, this game warden stopped us in plain sight of these bowfishers. he gave us the 3rd, 4th, and 5th degree about what we were doing. we were taking our fish home to eat, won't tell you what kind because I don't think it really matters, but those archers, they were shooting gator gar left and right between 2 and 4 feet, removing their arrows as brutally as they could, and leaving them on the bank in plain sight of the road leading to PK dam (Possum Kingdom is PK) with no intention whatsoever of doing anything with them except letting them die a slow death and rot on the bank.

My friend was a severe hothead at the time, he has mellowed now, but he threatened them pretty bad, and I did to a lesser degree. The "game warden" threatened to call the County Sheriff on us (Palo Pinto) to have us arrested for Assault by Threat. Well, we ended up swallowing our humble pie very reluctantly, and very soon afterward, we quit going there altogether.

 

[Daggel]

it would take a long time for them to answer your email, expect a few months!
it is a federal law that prohibit export wild caught gar out of U.S, but I think you can sell them or throw them back in Trinity river!

I didn't "obtain" them from the Trinity River, so why would I put them "back" in the Trinity River?

 

[Ancient_Fish_Master]

it would take a long time for them to answer your email, expect a few months!
it is a federal law that prohibit export wild caught gar out of U.S, but I think you can sell them or throw them back in Trinity river!

BAD advice... one should never release a fish back into the wild even if its capitve breed or native to the area, dont want to introduce any diseases, etc. but i dont see any problem if you are selling them locally, may be wrong though.

 

[Daggel]

BAD advice... one should never release a fish back into the wild even if its capitve breed or native to the area, dont want to introduce any diseases, etc. but i dont see any problem if you are selling them locally, may be wrong though.

I agree that this is bad advice, and I think it is weird that this person insinuates that I got them out of the Trinity River. There are alligator gar all over Texas rivers, creeks, streams, bayous, sloughs, etc. from the Red River to the Rio Grande, the Brazos, the Trinity, Pecos, all over Louisiana, Arkansas, Miss., Oklahoma, etc.

 

[HungDang]

I agree that this is bad advice, and I think it is weird that this person insinuates that I got them out of the Trinity River. There are alligator gar all over Texas rivers, creeks, streams, bayous, sloughs, etc. from the Red River to the Rio Grande, the Brazos, the Trinity, Pecos, all over Louisiana, Arkansas, Miss., Oklahoma, etc.

not exactly all over TX river, there are some part of the upstream trinity river where we never seen a gar! And how did you think that I insinuated that you got the gar from Trinity river?