SAWFISH: The world’s most endangered marine fish

FAST FACTS: UNITED STATES

Species:

• Two of the world’s five sawfish species were historically found in waters of the United States:  the Smalltooth and Largetooth Sawfish

Status:

            Smalltooth Sawfish

•  Historically, ranged from Texas to seasonally to New York, but range contracted dramatically in the last century. Now restricted to South Florida, particularly protected areas of the Florida Keys and Everglades
•  Once reported as “frequently taken” and “plentiful” in the US, and “abundant” in Florida and Texas
• Atlantic State Smalltooth Sawfish disappearance:
• Northernmost U.S. record was from New York in July 1782
• New Jersey, Maryland, or Virginia: no reports of Smalltooth Sawfish in since 1928 and the only records from these are from the late 1800s and early 1900s
• North Carolina: multiple reports from the late 1800s and early 1900s; since 1915, there have been only three published records of captures (1937, 1963 and 1999)
• South Carolina and Georgia: sparse records with the last reported captures in 1958 and in 2002, respectively
• Estimated at less than 5% of virgin population size 
• Protected under the US Endangered Species Act in 2003; now subject to recovery plan developed by a team of experts convened by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
• Thought to be at least stabilized and perhaps increasing in the US

Largetooth Sawfish

• Historically found (in lower densities than Smalltooth Sawfish) from Texas to Florida
• Those found in US thought to be seasonal visitors from Mexico
• Considered regionally extinct in US waters
• Last confirmed in Texas in 1961, in Florida in 1941, and in Louisiana in 1917 

Biology:

Smalltooth Sawfish

• Occur in shallow, inshore waters, particularly mangrove stands
• Born at 80 cm in length; can grow to at least 5.5 meters
• Reach sexual maturity at around 8-12 years old and live at least 30 years
• Give birth to 15-20 young, every second year

Largetooth Sawfish

• Occur in marine and fresh water environments
• Born at 70-90 cm in length, can grow to over 6.5 meters
• Reach sexual maturity at around 8-10 years old and live at least 44 years
• Give birth to 1-13 young

Threats:

• Incidental capture in fisheries, particularly gillnets and trawls (primary threat) 
• Decreased funding for angler education, leading to mishandling of accidently caught sawfish
• Loss and/or degradation of critical nearshore habitats like mangrove stands

Amazing facts:

• Sawfish are born with sheaths on their saws to protect the mother
•  In 1898, one man reportedly caught 300 smalltooth sawfish from Indian River Lagoon in one season
• US scientists recently began tagging smalltooth sawfish off Andros Island and are working to determine if US and Bahamas sawfish populations are connected

Opportunities:

• Restore and increase Congressional appropriations for NMFS Sawfish Recovery Plan
• Improve education of anglers with respect to legal protection and proper release techniques
• Increase commercial fishery monitoring, particularly for shrimp fishery off West Florida
• Expand partnership with West African sawfish range countries
• Export lessons for researching and restoring sawfish to other countries