The sawfish is a unique type of ray characterized by its long, flattened snout, known as a rostrum, which is lined with teeth on both sides. These animals are some of the largest elasmobranchs—the class of fish that includes sharks and rays—with some species growing over seven meters in length. They are considered one of the most threatened marine fish groups globally, facing an extremely high risk of extinction. The dramatic decline in their numbers has prompted urgent international attention to prevent their disappearance from the world’s oceans and rivers.
Defining the Sawfish: Species and Habitat
The sawfish family, Pristidae, consists of five recognized species, each with distinct geographic ranges. Sawfish inhabit tropical and subtropical waters worldwide, but their distribution is now highly fragmented.
The five species are:
- Largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis)
- Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata)
- Green sawfish (Pristis zijsron)
- Dwarf sawfish (Pristis clavata)
- Narrow sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata)
As elasmobranchs, their skeletons are made of cartilage. They are typically found in shallow coastal waters, estuaries, and river mouths. The ability to tolerate a wide range of salinities allows several species, particularly the largetooth sawfish, to travel significant distances up freshwater river systems as juveniles. This preference for coastal and estuarine environments places them directly in areas of high human activity and development.
The Critical Answer: Current Global Population Status
Due to their extreme rarity and wide historical ranges, a specific number for the global sawfish population is impossible to calculate. Scientific consensus classifies all five species as facing extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List currently classifies three species—the largetooth, smalltooth, and green sawfish—as Critically Endangered. The remaining two species, the dwarf sawfish and the narrow sawfish, are listed as Endangered.
Estimates suggest that global populations have experienced historic reductions greater than 90% in many parts of their range. For instance, the smalltooth sawfish population in the United States is estimated to be less than 5% of its size at the time of European settlement. Sawfishes are now presumed extinct in over half of the 90 nations where they were historically found, representing a massive spatial contraction of their distribution.
Primary Causes of Population Decline
The severe reduction in sawfish numbers stems from two primary threats. The species’ most distinctive feature, the rostrum, is a major liability when encountering fishing gear. This saw-like structure is extremely susceptible to entanglement in fishing nets, particularly gillnets and trawls, leading to high bycatch mortality.
Even when not directly targeted, sawfish caught as bycatch often die or are killed due to the difficulty of safely removing them from the gear. The second major threat is the loss and degradation of their specialized coastal habitats. Sawfish rely heavily on shallow, brackish water nurseries, such as mangrove forests and estuaries, for the development of their young.
Coastal development, agricultural runoff, and pollution have destroyed many of these critical nursery areas. This severely limits the ability of juvenile sawfish to survive and recruit into the adult population. Their inherently slow reproductive rate, with females not reaching sexual maturity until around 10 years of age, makes them exceptionally vulnerable to these compounding threats.
International Conservation Efforts and Protection Status
Conservation efforts have been mobilized globally to safeguard the remaining sawfish populations. A significant measure is the listing of all sawfish species on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This listing prohibits all international commercial trade in sawfish and their parts, including rostra and fins.
On a national level, countries with remaining sawfish strongholds have implemented strict protections. The United States protects the smalltooth sawfish under the Endangered Species Act, designating critical habitat areas in Florida to protect juvenile nurseries. Australia, which is home to the last significant populations of four species, also provides strict legal protection under its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The IUCN’s Shark Specialist Group has developed a Global Sawfish Conservation Strategy to coordinate research, education, and national recovery plans worldwide.