AUSTIN, Texas — Did you know Texas has a state fish? And according to Texas Parks and Wildlife, we have one because in 1989, a group of third-graders decided we should.
That official state fish of Texas is the Guadalupe bass, a fish that TPWD said is found only in the Lone Star State. Thirty-five years ago on Friday, it was officially designated.
So where did the third-graders come in? According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, teacher Shirley Watson and her class of third-graders from Decatur Elementary School went to Austin to testify in front of lawmakers. Their argument -- a fish that is only found in Texas should be designated as the official state fish!
And it came to be.
You can see those third graders back then and now in 2024, as well as the letter signed by Gov. Bill Clements of the designation, in the post below. .
Back then, the Guadalupe bass was threatened, but Texas Parks and Wildlife’s restoration effort began in 1991 to save them. According to TPWD, they’re now found in the northern and eastern Edwards Plateau, including in the San Antonio River, the Guadalupe River above Gonzalez, the Colorado River north of Austin and parts of the Brazos River drainage.
