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Sawfish slated to receive protections

by Mitch Merry, Online Organizer, Endangered Species Coalition
June 28, 2013

Sawfish are some of the most endangered fish in the world, and they’re about to receive needed protections in the United States.

In response to a petition by WildEarth Guardians, a member of the Endangered Species Coalition, five species of sawfish, the narrow sawfish, dwarf sawfish, largetooth sawfish, green sawfish, and smalltooth sawfish have been proposed for “endangered” status under the Endangered Species Act.

Their name refers to the rostrum, or “saw”—a long, flat snout that is lined with sharp teeth. Sawfish use their rostrum as a weapon to kill and detect prey in murky waters. Recent studies even suggest that sawfish can sense their prey’s electrical fields with their rostrums. Their saw-like snouts also make them very vulnerable to becoming entangled in fishing lines and nets, and because they can injure fishermen they are often killed before being disentangled

Some species of sawfish have declined by as much as 99 percent in the United States. Smalltooth sawfish once swam in shallow waters from Texas to North Carolina, but are now found only in protected areas of the Florida Keys and the Everglades.  Because sawfish grow slowly, mature late and bear few young, they are especially vulnerable to the problem of bycatch. This almost always leads to their death, even when the fish is returned to the sea.

Commercial and recreational fishing are the primary threats to the continued survival of sawfish in our oceans.  Sawfish have high commercial value due in part to their rarity. The rostrum, teeth, and fins are worth as much as $1,000 on the open market.  Global markets for sawfish lack regulation and most countries have no protections in place for these disappearing and unique fish.

After the approval of their addition to the endangered species list, a recovery plan will be outlined and the harvesting and trade of these sawfish species will be prohibited in the United States.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. This law has been remarkably successful at bringing species like these sawfish back from the brink of extinction. More than 99 percent of the species listed under the Act survive today.  To find out more about the Endangered Species Act and the species it protects, please visit www.endangered.org.