Texas Fauna Project

Atlantic Tarpon

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The Atlantic tarpon has seen a decline in its populations off the Texas coast since the mid-1950s. It is not clear what the causes might be, though there are suspicions that overfishing and freshwater cuts might be factors. It is clear that there have been significant changes in historic flow from the Colorado River, due to dams, channels and diversions, and shifts in other, less charismatic species, like the cabbagehead jellyfish, that are likely meaningful in some still unknown way.