Regional Fast Facts: United States

Species:
  • Two of the world’s five sawfish species were historically found in waters of the United States:  the Smalltooth and Largetooth Sawfish

Status: 

            Smalltooth Sawfish

  •  Historically, ranged from Texas to seasonally to New York, but range contracted dramatically in the last century. Now restricted to South Florida, particularly protected areas of the Florida Keys and Everglades
  •  Once reported as “frequently taken” and “plentiful” in the US, and “abundant” in Florida and Texas
  • Atlantic State Smalltooth Sawfish disappearance:
  • Northernmost U.S. record was from New York in July 1782
  • New Jersey, Maryland, or Virginia: no reports of Smalltooth Sawfish in since 1928 and the only records from these are from the late 1800s and early 1900s
  • North Carolina: multiple reports from the late 1800s and early 1900s; since 1915, there have been only three published records of captures (1937, 1963 and 1999)
  • South Carolina and Georgia: sparse records with the last reported captures in 1958 and in 2002, respectively
  • Estimated at less than 5% of virgin population size 
  • Protected under the US Endangered Species Act in 2003; now subject to recovery plan developed by a team of experts convened by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
  • Thought to be at least stabilized and perhaps increasing in the US

Largetooth Sawfish
  • Historically found (in lower densities than Smalltooth Sawfish) from Texas to Florida
  • Those found in US thought to be seasonal visitors from Mexico
  • Considered regionally extinct in US waters
  • Last confirmed in Texas in 1961, in Florida in 1941, and in Louisiana in 1917 

Biology:

Smalltooth Sawfish
  • Occur in shallow, inshore waters, particularly mangrove stands
  • Born at 80 cm in length; can grow to at least 5.5 meters
  • Reach sexual maturity at around 8-12 years old and live at least 30 years
  • Give birth to 15-20 young, every second year

Largetooth Sawfish
  • Occur in marine and fresh water environments
  • Born at 70-90 cm in length, can grow to over 6.5 meters
  • Reach sexual maturity at around 8-10 years old and live at least 44 years
  • Give birth to 1-13 young

Threats:
  • Incidental capture in fisheries, particularly gillnets and trawls (primary threat) 
  • Decreased funding for angler education, leading to mishandling of accidently caught sawfish
  • Loss and/or degradation of critical nearshore habitats like mangrove stands

Amazing facts:
  • Sawfish are born with sheaths on their saws to protect the mother
  •  In 1898, one man reportedly caught 300 smalltooth sawfish from Indian River Lagoon in one season
  • US scientists recently began tagging smalltooth sawfish off Andros Island and are working to determine if US and Bahamas sawfish populations are connected

Opportunities:
  • Restore and increase Congressional appropriations for NMFS Sawfish Recovery Plan
  • Improve education of anglers with respect to legal protection and proper release techniques
  • Increase commercial fishery monitoring, particularly for shrimp fishery off West Florida
  • Expand partnership with West African sawfish range countries
  • Export lessons for researching and restoring sawfish to other countries