Even "ugly" fish are protected
 

Alligator gar's are not "pretty" fish. But, they are now going to be protected too!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124631318638370373.html

Are skates next?

Why should only cute, cuddly animals like seals be protected?

Good question!
 

JohnnyD,

Good question! Your question jolted my memory....there is another "ugly" species that swims in southern waters that was nearly driven to extinction because of excessive commercial harvesting. The species is now bouncing back thanks to regulations.

The issue is with the tree huggers. Gars aren't pretty enough for them to care about, even though they are at a high risk. Then we have seals that are in an over abundance in our waters, dogfish that got protected due to a single person's study and numerous other species that are protected for cute or other insanely non-scientific reasons.