By Tonya Wiley, Havenworth Coastal Conservation
The population of smalltooth sawfish in the United States experienced a significant decrease in numbers and distribution during the 20th century due to overfishing, habitat loss, and limited reproduction. Given the decline, NOAA Fisheries listed the U.S. population of smalltooth sawfish as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act nineteen years ago on April 1, 2003. The smalltooth sawfish became the first fully marine fish and first elasmobranch (sharks, skates, and rays) protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
The goal of the Endangered Species Act listing is to recover the population to the point that it no longer needs the protections afforded by the Act. A recovery plan for smalltooth sawfish in the U.S. was published in 2009 and recommends specific steps to recover the population, focusing on (1) educating the public to minimize human interactions with sawfish and any associated injury and mortality, (2) protecting and/or restoring important sawfish habitats, and (3) ensuring sawfish abundance and distribution increase. For smalltooth sawfish, recovery means ensuring the long-term viability of the species in the wild through substantial increases in both abundance and range.
At the time of the listing in 2003 scientists knew little about the biology, ecology, and population dynamics of smalltooth sawfish. The recovery plan identified actions and research goals aimed at gaining a better understanding of the species and the population. Over the last 19 years, scientists from multiple agencies, universities, and organizations have collaborated to research the smalltooth sawfish population in the United States. We now know more about their size and age at maturity, the number of young they give birth to, the food they eat, their large- and small-scale movement patterns and habitat use, and their response to a variety of stressors. This research greatly improved our understanding of the species and helped us prioritize the actions needed to reach recovery as quickly as possible.
One of the best ways to monitor the population and track recovery progress is by analyzing public sawfish encounters. If you catch or see a sawfish, please share the information with scientists by visiting www.SawfishRecovery.org, calling 1-844-4SAWFISH, emailing sawfish@myfwc.com, or using the FWC Reporter app.
Sawfish recovery documents are available at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/smalltooth-sawfish. A video looking at smalltooth sawfish conservation and recovery in the United States is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSRWUjVU3e8&t=3s.
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media