Our Sawfish A Sore Loser

January 30, 2007

Release from: Saffron Howden
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)

An extraordinary fish with a long, saw-like nose is set to be the first fish declared extinct in NSW.

The green sawfish, which can grow to more than 7m in length, was last sighted in NSW in 1972.

The fisheries scientific committee says that, although pristis zijsron is currently listed as endangered, it had disappeared and should be classed as "presumed extinct''.

The sawfish is a species of ray, looks more like a shark, and has a flat head and a blade-like snout studded with 24 to 28 pairs of "teeth'', or whiskers.

It moves between salt and fresh water, cruising just below the surface in shallow areas, and using its "saw'' to sift through sand or mud for food.

The green sawfish has fallen victim to commercial prawn trawling. It is easily caught in nets, hard to untangle, and unlikely to be thrown back alive.

The committee also said the fish were hunted by poachers for use in shark-fin soup, traditional medicine, and to be sold as curios. The degradation of their environment had also contributed to their demise.

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC) said the sawfish's fate sounded a warning bell for other marine life, such as the endangered grey nurse shark.

"This is the strongest example we have of our failure to protect the marine environment,'' NCC spokeswoman Megan Kessler said.

There were only 500 grey nurse sharks left in Australia's eastern coastal waters and about 12 were killed every year by hook and line fishing.

The scientific committee has proposed the grey nurse shark be listed as critically endangered.

The committee is considering submissions on the green sawfish before meeting next month when it is almost certain to make the listing official.