IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group
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​Regional Fast Facts: Australia

Regional Fast Facts: Australia

Species:
  • Four of the world’s five sawfish species - Narrow, Dwarf, Green, and Largetooth – are found in northern regions of the country

Status: 
  • All sawfishes have undergone significant, albeit largely unquantified, declines in Australia due to capture in fisheries and modification of habitat
  • Despite this, northern Australia represents one of the last strongholds for sawfishes in the world
  • Dwarf sawfish now only occurs in Australia; there have been no records from elsewhere in more than a century. It now has the smallest distribution of any sawfish species
  • Green Sawfish is now extinct in New South Wales and southern Queensland
  • Largetooth, Green, and Dwarf sawfishes are totally protected in Australia; Narrow Sawfish is not
  • The Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia are globally significant for Green Sawfish

Biology:
  • All sawfishes are marine species, but Largetooth and Dwarf sawfish also spend part of their lives in rivers; juvenile Largetooth spend 4-5 years in the freshwater reaches of tropical rivers before migrating to coastal and marine environment
  • Rivers are an important nursery areas for Dwarf and particularly Largetooth Sawfish
  • Female Largetooth Sawfish return to sites previously used for reproduction to give birth
  • Despite its name, the Dwarf Sawfish reaches 3.2 m in length. While not tiny, it is the smallest sawfish
  • Green Sawfish can live for more than 50 years. In contrast, the Narrow Sawfish only lives to 9 years

Threats:
  • Despite protection, sawfish are still caught as incidentally as bycatch in commercial fisheries in northern Australia, particularly in gillnets
  • Barriers in rivers (such as road crossings, barrages, and dams) can pose a restriction to the upstream migration of Largetooth Sawfish
  • Some Australian fisheries have safe release guides, developed by the fishing industry
  • Narrow Sawfish fins have been found amongst confiscated shark fin catches from foreign fishing vessels fishing illegally in northern Australia

Amazing facts:
  • Amongst some Indigenous communities of northern Australia there are strong cultural connections to sawfishes
  • Six public aquariums in Australia hold and display sawfishes that have been collected from the wild

Opportunities:
  • The Australian Government has prepared a recovery plan for Largetooth, Dwarf, and Green Sawfishes
  • As a party to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), Australia can help ensure the listing of sawfish to CMS Appendix I in November 2014, which would oblige Parties to strictly protect the species in national waters while encouraging regional cooperation in sawfish conservation

  • Home
  • About
    • Mission & Vision
    • Sponsors
    • Communication >
      • Visual Identity and Brand Guide
      • Communication Strategy
    • Documents
    • Membership | TOR
    • FAQ
  • Members
    • Who We Are >
      • Our Team
      • Our Members
      • Our History
    • Where We Work >
      • North America
      • Central America and the Caribbean
      • South America
      • Northern Europe
      • Mediterranean
      • Africa
      • Indian Ocean
      • ​Asia
      • Oceania
    • What We Do >
      • Aquarium Working Group
      • Assess Working Group
      • Bycatch Working Group
      • Communication Working Group
      • Deepwater Chondrichthyans Working Group
      • Future Leaders Working Group
      • Human Dimensions Working Group
      • Integrative Taxonomy Working Group
      • Marine Historical Ecology Working Group
  • Resources
    • Shark News >
      • Shark News | Submission Guidelines
    • Shark News Legacy
    • Publications >
      • Status Reports
      • Fisheries Management
      • Conservation Strategies
      • Migratory Species
      • SSG Statements
      • Identification Guide
      • Trade
      • Other
    • Scientific References
    • Conservation Strategies >
      • Conservation Strategies: Sawfish
      • Conservation Strategies: Devil and Manta Rays
      • Conservation Strategies: Angel Sharks
    • Policy Planning >
      • CITES >
        • CITES 17th CoP
      • The Convention on Migratory Species and Sharks
      • The Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (Sharks MOU)
      • The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Sharks
      • RFMOs
      • IPOA-Sharks
    • Workshops >
      • IUCN SSC SSG Workshops
      • Red List News
    • Press
    • Links
    • Media Resources
  • News
  • Contact
  • Donate