Toothy Sawfish Doomed by Own Design

Dec. 2, 2008 -- New efforts are underway to save the sawfish, an iconic, shark-like fish that has experienced steep population declines in recent years, primarily because its distinctive saw-shaped snout easily tangles in nets, angering fishermen.

In 2003 the sawfish became the first marine fish to be placed on the list of federally endangered species. It's been on the list ever since.

"Commercial fishermen have never liked sawfish," George Burgess, a University of Florida ichthyologist, told Discovery News. "They routinely kill sawfish because they can cause costly damage to nets."

Burgess is a University of Florida ichthyologist who serves as curator of both the International Shark Attack File and the National Sawfish Encounter Database. He's calling on the public to help with a new expansion of the sawfish database that is bringing together files formerly housed with the Mote Marine Laboratory, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and two private collections.

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"We'd like for anyone who has seen a sawfish in the wild to report the sighting using the form at the Florida Museum of Natural History web site," he said, explaining that the information will be used to better reveal the distribution of sawfish.

Sawfish, which can grow to anywhere from 4.6 to 23 feet in length depending on the species, once had a range that extended from the waters off of New York to the Tex-Mex border. Now it's thought that sawfish "are essentially confined to Florida," according to Burgess.

South Florida was always a primary destination for the flat-headed fish.

"I think every bar there has a sawfish saw hanging on the wall," he said, adding that while the fish can survive without the saw, its ability to hunt is severely compromised.