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Fighting Tarpon

Alabama State Saltwater Fish

Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) public domain photo from NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center: Image: Atlantic tarpon.

Official State Saltwater Fish of Alabama

The fighting tarpon (Tarpon atlanticus) was designated the state fish of Alabama in 1955. A silver-colored saltwater game fish that ranges off the coast of Alabama and the Mobile estuary, the tarpon is nicknamed the "Silver King" and can reach 280 pounds in weight.  The largest caught in Alabama (as of 2007) weighed 203 pounds.  In 1975 the designation was changed to "state saltwater fish" when the largemouth bass became Alabama's state freshwater fish. All State Fish   Alabama also recognizes a State Crustacean, the brown shrimp 

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