PRIORITIES

Florida’s Endangered Smalltooth Sawfish:

The Urgent Case for Elevated Priority

The exceptionally vulnerable and long overexploited smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) was listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2003. Recovery efforts led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have since yielded benefits, particularly expanded scientific knowledge, but very little progress has been made to mitigate the primary threats identified long before listing: shrimp trawl bycatch and mangrove loss off the coast of Florida. Specifically:

• Fishery managers have done nothing to increase the exceptionally low levels of observer coverage (less than 2%) in regional shrimp fisheries;
• Scientists’ recommendations to limit shrimping in areas off southwest Florida identified for high bycatch of reproductive female sawfish have gone unheeded; and
• Development projects — including the construction of a new marina and a 100-pump gas station in the Peace River — threaten to destroy Critical Habitat for the species.

To make matters worse, in recent years:

• Insufficient observer data have been used to calculate an annual allowable take level that exceeds the estimated total number of reproductive sawfish left in the population;
• “Spinning sickness” (likely caused by algal blooms) has unexpectedly killed scores of adults; and
• Preliminary findings from new research suggest the population is in worse shape than previously estimated, both in terms of reproductive capacity and genetic fitness.

Immediate actions to help avert U.S. sawfish extinction include (beyond climate and pollution mitigation):

• Significant reduction of allowable sawfish take through a new NOAA biological opinion;
• Increased observer coverage (at least 10%) in shrimp fisheries operating off Florida, particularly the eastern Gulf fishery for pink shrimp;
• Shrimping closures in areas off western Florida delineated by scientists for relatively high numbers of mature female sawfish; and
• Rejection or cancellation of plans to construct a marina at the Sunseeker resort and/or a Buc-ee’s gas station on the Peace River in critical nursery areas of Charlotte Harbor.

These actions can be facilitated by:

• Greater pressure from conservationists on NOAA, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, other members of Regional Fishery Management Councils, and elected officials;
• Enhanced scrutiny and engagement from seafood sustainability advocates and associated programs that use market forces to improve fishery management standards; and
• Increased commitment to responsible resource management from the shrimp fishing industry and Florida developers.

 

Endangered Smalltooth Sawfish Mortality

Events in South Florida

In late 2023, researchers began documenting abnormal fish behavior in the Lower Florida Keys (USA), with over 80 species observed spinning and swimming upside-down. Since then, nearly 300 reports of affected sawfish have been received, there are 65 confirmed mortalities, and 56 recovered for necropsy with numerous samples and tissues collected for analysis. Necropsy data showed no apparent signs of a communicable pathogen (parasites, bacteria, viruses) that could have caused the spinning behavior and mortality. Results of water testing from the area indicated dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, and temperature were not suspected to be the cause of the fish behavior or kills. Similarly, water testing found that more than 250 chemicals were either not detected or were below any biological thresholds. Water and benthic samples tested for microalgae found red tide (Karenia brevis) was not present, but Gambierdiscus spp. dinoflagellates and their associated ciguatera toxins were. Ciguatoxins were also observed in some fish tissues.

With the height of the unusual mortality event appearing to now be over, the investigation continues through the collection and analysis of water and tissue samples. NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Implementation Team are currently working with numerous partners at aquariums, universities, state and federal agencies, and non-profit organizations including Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Ripley’s Aquariums, Havenworth Coastal Conservation, University of Southern Alabama, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Dynasty Marine, Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters, Terramar Productions, SeaWorld Orlando, and The Association of Zoos & Aquariums to determine the cause of the sawfish mortalities and plan for future similar events.

Donations will be used to fund the ongoing analyses of samples collected during the unusual mortality events of endangered smalltooth sawfish in south Florida. Multiple partner agencies, organizations, and universities are working to evaluate organs and tissues collected during sawfish necropsies. These results will help the U.S. Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Team better understand the causes of this event and inform future management decisions.

 

 

 

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