Short-nose gar record holder

The Missouri Department of Conservation has retracted the recent state record for shortnose gar after genetic testing has shown the fish — shot on Lake of the Ozarks — wasn't a shortnose gar at all. 

The Missouri Department of Conservation announced on August 17 that Rich Porter of Omaha, Neb. had become the new state record holder under alternative methods for shortnose gar after bowfishing it on Lake of the Ozarks in May. The supposed shortnose weighed 14 pounds, 6 ounces and beat the last record holder by more then a pound. 

But anglers online were suspicious of the catch, stating that the fish looked more like a long-nose gar then a shortnose gar. Even Porter himself, in a press release from MDC, was surprised at the fishes size. 

“Shortnose gar usually only weight three-to-four pounds,” noted Porter. “So, to catch one that big, we thought it was a longnose.”

Initial genetic testing was announced by the MDC as confirming the gar was a shortnose. But now the Missouri Department of Conservation has issued a retraction stating that the fish was not, in fact, a pure short nose gar. 

"The genetic testing for this gar was completed by a Missouri university," said MDC Fisheries Programs Specialist Andrew Branson. "Their initial results showed the fish to be a pure shortnose, however, they are proceeding with additional genetic tests." 

The department also said that they are performing additional tests to determine the species of fish. 

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