Seasonal Distributions and Movements of Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus) within the York River System, Virginia

Abstract

The seasonal movements of Lepisosteus osseus (Longnose Gar) are largely unknown. The goal of this project was to characterize spawning movements and seasonal distributions by using acoustic tagging methods and examining historical catch records from a trawl survey. This is the first time that movements have been studied for an estuarine population of Longnose Gar. Two individuals moved greater minimum distances (69 and 74 km) than found in the only other report on movement in this species. Spawningground residency time, collected from two tagged Longnose Gar, was approximately one month, and tidal periodicity was observed for one of the two fish. Data from a fisheries independent trawl survey were used to examine seasonal catch distributions in Longnose Gar and represents the first report of winter distributions for this species. Winter locations occurred both alongshore and mid-channel, and the distributions were similar to those in the summer and fall.