By Tonya Wily, The President of Havenworth Coastal Conservation
Entanglement of marine species in discarded lines, fishing gear, and other garbage and debris is a problem seen with unfortunate regularity. This includes Endangered species such as North Atlantic right whales, giant manta rays, sturgeon, sea turtles, and smalltooth sawfish. Each species is susceptible to entanglement based on their unique physical traits, but none more so than the sawfish since they generally swim along the seafloor where marine debris can accumulate. Their toothed rostrum can easily become entangled in any garbage the sawfish encounters which can lead to injury, deformation, or even death from suffocation or starvation. Sawfish have been photographed ensnared in a variety of items including dock lines, trap lines, ghost nets, fishing lines, pipes, coffee cans, dog toys, and elastic bands.
Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about the growing number of endangered sawfish in Florida which are entangled in ball bungee cords believed to be from boathouse awnings. The plastic balls on these types of bungees are buoyant enough to partially lift the device just off the bottom but not buoyant enough to float the whole cord to the surface. This results in lost or discarded bungees sitting upright on the bottom, where small sawfish can swim into the opening of the cords. The bungee then works its way down the body where it remains in place, slowly becoming more constrictive as the sawfish grows. It’s imperative that we alert homeowners and boathouse awning companies to this escalating issue so that extra care can be taken during the assembly, removal, or repair of boathouse covers to keep these bungees out of the water to help protect endangered sawfish.
It is a shared responsibility of all outdoor enthusiasts to keep our waters free of trash and debris. Information about marine debris prevention is available at https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/. Next time you’re on the water, stow all your gear and trash properly to prevent it from flying out of your boat and pick up any trash or debris you encounter. And if you catch or see a sawfish please let us know by visiting www.SawfishRecovery.org, calling 1-844-4SAWFISH, emailing sawfish@myfwc.com, or entering the details in the FWC Reporter App.
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media