Smalltooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinata)

	Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

	Did You Know? · Smalltooth sawfish are the only domestic marine fish, and the only "elasmobranch", listed under the ESA. · Sawfish saws have great significance to many cultures around the world. · Sawfish use their saws as a weapon to kill and capture prey, and also as a sensory organ in murky water or to detect buried prey.

Status
ESA Endangered - U.S. "distinct population segment"

Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Pristiformes
Family: Pristidae
Genus: Pristis
Species: pectinata

Species Description
Sawfish, like sharks, skates and rays, belong to a group of fish called elasmobranchs, whose skeletons are made of cartilage. Sawfish are actually modified rays with a shark-like body and gill slits on their ventral side.

Early sawfish arose around 100 million years ago, but these first sawfish are actually distant cousins to modern day sawfishes, which first appeared around 56 million years ago.

Sawfish get their name from their "saws"--long, flat snouts edged with pairs of teeth which are used to locate, stun, and kill prey. Their diet includes mostly fish but also some crustaceans.

Smalltooth sawfish is one of two species of sawfish that inhabit U.S. waters. Smalltooth sawfish commonly reach 18 ft (5.5 m) in length, and may grow to 25 ft (7 m).

Little is known about the life history of these animals, but they may live up to 25-30 years, maturing after about 10 years.

Like many elasmobranchs, smalltooth sawfish are ovoviviparous, meaning the mother holds the eggs inside of her until the young are ready to be born, usually in litters of 15 to 20 pups.

Habitat
Sawfish species inhabit shallow coastal waters of tropical seas and estuaries throughout the world. They are usually found in shallow waters very close to shore over muddy and sandy bottoms. They are often found in sheltered bays, on shallow banks, and in estuaries or river mouths. Certain species of sawfish are known to ascend inland in large river systems, and they are among the few elasmobranchs that are known from freshwater systems in many parts of the world.

NMFS proposed critical habitat for smalltooth sawfish on November 20, 2008 (73 FR 70290).

Distribution
Smalltooth sawfish have been reported in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and Gulf of Mexico; however, the U.S. population is found only in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Historically, the U.S. population was common throughout the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida, and along the east coast from Florida to Cape Hatteras. The current range of this species has contracted to peninsular Florida, and smalltooth sawfish are relatively common only in the Everglades region at the southern tip of the state. No accurate estimates of abundance trends over time are available for this species. However, available records, including museum records and anecdotal fisher observations, indicate that this species was once common throughout its historic range and that smalltooth sawfish have declined dramatically in U.S. waters over the last century.

Population Trends
There are few reliable data available for this species, and no robust estimates of historic or current population size exist. However, available data indicate that the species' distribution has been reduced by about 90%, and that the population numbers have declined dramatically, perhaps by 95% or more.

smalltooth sawfish entangled in fishing gear; Florida Museum of Natural History

Smalltooth sawfish entangled in fishing line
(Pristis pectinata)
Photo: © Florida Museum of Natural History

Threats
Sawfish are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation because of their propensity for entanglement in nets, their restricted habitat, and low rate of population growth.

The decline in smalltooth sawfish abundance has been caused primarily by bycatch in various fisheries, especially in gill nets. Because adults can grow very large, and potentially damage fishing gear of even pose a threat to fishermen, many incidentally captured sawfish were killed before they were removed from fishing gear, even if the fishermen had no interest in keeping them.

Juvenile sawfish use shallow habitats with a lot of vegetation, such as mangrove forests, as important nursery areas. Many such habitats have been modified or lost due to development of the waterfront in Florida and other southeastern states. The loss of juvenile habitat likely contributed to the decline of this species.

Conservation Efforts
NMFS convened the Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Team , comprising sawfish scientists, managers, and environmental managers, to develop a plan to recover the U.S. DPS of smalltooth sawfish. The team published the final recovery plan [pdf] in January 2009. The plan recommends specific steps to recover the DPS, focusing on reducing fishing impacts, protecting important habitats, and educating the public. The draft recovery plan had been made available for public comment in August 2006.

Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), it is illegal to catch or harm an endangered sawfish. However, some fishermen catch sawfish incidentally while fishing for other species. NMFS and the Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Team have developed guidelines to fishermen telling them how to safely handle and release any sawfish they catch.

Some states have taken additional step to protect this species; the states of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas have prohibited the "take" of sawfish. Florida's existing ban on the use of gill nets in state waters is an important conservation tool. Three National Wildlife Refuges in Florida also protect their habitat.

All sawfish (Pristidae) species have been proposed for listing on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) by the United States, Kenya, and Nicaragua. Appendix I limits international trade in species to exceptional circumstances only. This proposal will be considered at the next Conference of the Parties (COP) , which will be held at The Hague (Netherlands), 3-15 June 2007. The Pristidae proposal is found under the proponents (left column), Kenya, Nicaragua, and the U.S., in the list of proposals .

The IUCN Red List also lists the smalltooth sawfish as endangered.

Regulatory Overview
The smalltooth sawfish was added to the candidate species list in 1991, removed in 1997, and placed back on the list again in 1999. In November 1999, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) received a petition from the Ocean Conservancy [pdf] (formerly the Center for Marine Conservation) requesting that this species be listed as endangered under the ESA.

NMFS completed a status review [pdf] [521 KB] in December 2000 (note: Appendix A [pdf] [29 KB] is best printed on 11x17" paper). On April 16, 2001, NMFS published a proposed rule [pdf] to list the U.S. distinct population segment (DPS) of this species as endangered. On April 1, 2003, NMFS published a final rule [pdf] listing this DPS as an endangered species under the ESA.

NMFS initiated a 5-year review [pdf] in May 2008.

Key Documents
(All documents are in PDF format.)

Title	Federal Register	Date
Final Recovery Plan	74 FR 3566	01/21/2009
Proposed Critical Habitat	73 FR 70290	11/20/2008
5-Year Review Initiated for U.S. DPS	73 FR 29482	05/21/2008
Draft Recovery Plan	71 FR 49418	08/23/2006
ESA Listing Rule for the U.S. DPS	68 FR 15674	04/01/2003
Status Review Report (Note: Appendix A is best printed on 11x17" paper)	n/a	12/2000

More Information
Links

Documents

Adams, W. F. and C. Wilson. 1995. The status of the smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata Latham 1794 (Pristiformes: Pristidae) in the United States. Chondros 6:1–5.
Proposed Endangered Status for a Distinct Population Segment of Smalltooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in the United States. 66 FR 19414. April 16, 2001.
90-Day Findings for a Petition to list North American Populations of Smalltooth Sawfish and Largetooth Sawfish as endangered under the ESA. 65 FR 12959. March 10, 2000.
Petition to list North American populations of sawfish (Pristis pectinata and Pristis perotteti) as endangered pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. §1533. Center for Marine Conservation. November 30, 1999.
SGG Status Accounts. 7.8.8.0-7.8.8.7. November 1998.