Celebrating International Sawfish Day
by NOAA Fisheries 18 Oct 2018 11:46 PDT
17 October 2018
NOAA biologists join partners worldwide to celebrate the second International Sawfish Day on October 17, 2018. This annual event was created in partnership with the Sawfish Conservation Society and the European and American Associations of Zoos and Aquariums.
Outreach events are being held at public aquaria and museums around the world including: The Deep Aquaurium in the United Kingdom, Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach South Carolina, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Dallas World Aquarium, the Downtown Aquarium Houston, the New Orleans Audubon Aquarium, the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Estuarium in Alabama.
There are also a variety of presentations ranging from Facebook live broadcasts to radio interviews.
Sawfishes (all five species) are the most endangered elasmobranch in the world, with one of those species, the smalltooth sawfish found in the U.S.
Historically smalltooth sawfish were found from Texas to North Carolina. Now they are only found off the Florida coast. Their decline is attributed to habitat loss and mortality associated with commercial and recreational fisheries gear, bycatch.
Raising awareness about these endangered fish is vital to their survival. We ask the public to release a sawfish immediately, keeping it in the water and cutting the line close to the hook.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of sawfish being listed under the Endangered Species Act. Over the past 15 years much has been done to recover this iconic species. NOAA and partners discuss this 15-year journey in a new video below.
Please report sitings or captures of sawfish to 1-844-4SAWFISH or via email to Sawfish@MyFWC.com