Please click here for more information (document is in English/Francais/Espanol)

The IUCN Shark Specialist Group has recently completed a global Red List assessment of over 1000 shark, ray and chimaera species. This assessment found that 181 species are threatened and identified a small number of families that deserve the highest priority for conservation action. The sawfish (family Pristidae) fall into this highest priority category because all 7 species are Critically Endangered.



Historically, sawfishes were widespread in shallow tropical and subtropical coastal waters and estuaries. Now, some sawfishes are locally and regionally extinct from large parts of their former range. Sawfishes are easily entangled in fishing nets by their long, toothed rostrum or ‘saw’, and are also taken on hooks in both commercial and recreational fisheries as bycatch.

We are working to create a Global Status Review of all sawfish species and concurrently update the Red List Assessment for each species. This review will include details of historic and current distributions and the specific threats that sawfish face in each location. However, most importantly the plan will highlight key regions on which to focus our recommended conservation actions.

We welcome and greatly appreciate any information that you can provide, even if it is only to confirm that sawfishes are no longer present. We are also aiming to have a representative from each country where sawfishes may be present. To gather your interests and information we have created an online survey - (http://iucnshark.wufoo.com/forms/sawfish-status-review/).

Please contact IUCN SSG Program Officer Lucy Harrison (iucnshark@gmail.com) if you have any information on Sawfish or would like to discuss the project further.