State Fish in Trouble

The state fish of Texas, the Guadalupe Bass, is close to extinction according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. The species was endangered when it was made the official state fish in 1989. Re-stocking efforts in two Central Texas streams led to inter-species mating with small-mouth bass.

"You know, in the 1990s they found, I think, 8 percent of the Blanco River population was pure-bred Guadalupes and now there's zero," said Dr. Tim Bonner, Texas State University biology professor. "So they continued to interbreed with another and so finally wiping out any pure-bred Guadalupe Bass."

Texas State University is now working with Parks & Wildlife to find purebred Guadalupe Bass and attaching radio transmitters to track their habits and gain understanding of the species and aid preservation efforts.

State Fish In Danger Of Extinction [KXAN.com]
Texas Parks & Wildlife