National Shark Research Consortium
Florida Program for Shark Research - Florida Museum of Natural History
Featured Projects
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NSRC Featured Project:
Sawfish Research
Senior Biologist Tonya Wiley releases a sawfish fitted with a satellite tracking tag
© Mote Marine Laboratory
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The smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, is a large species of ray that was once common in US waters. Due to overfishing (mostly as bycatch in commercial and recreational fisheries), habitat loss due to coastal development and low reproductive potential the population has been reduced by as much as 95%, with the population now found mostly in south Florida waters. On April 1, 2003 the conservation need of this species was recognized when National Marine Fisheries Service added smalltooth sawfish to the Endangered Species List. The Sawfish Research Project is performing research projects to provide the scientific data necessary for the development of effective conservation strategies and to identify future research directions and proper research protocols. Current initiatives include:
National Sawfish Encounter Database & Public Education
The Sawfish Research Project strives to educate the public on the endangered status of the smalltooth sawfish, the continuing risks to sawfish recovery, and what people can do to help protect sawfish. Outreach efforts are conducted throughout the historic range of the sawfish (from Texas to North Carolina), as well as in neighboring countries (Mexico, Cuba and Bahamas). The collection of sawfish sighting reports from the public is providing valuable data on the current distribution and habitat use of the remaining population.
National Sawfish Encounter Database sawfish sightings 1998-2007
© Mote Marine Laboratory
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The Development and Implementation of Protocols to Monitor the Relative Abundance of Juvenile Smalltooth Sawfish
A juvenile sawfish captured during surveys in Everglades National Park
© Mote Marine Laboratory
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With information received through the National Sawfish Encounter Database and from previous field surveys, several areas utilized by newborn and juvenile sawfish throughout southwest Florida have been identified. Surveys using longlines, nets, and rod and reels are being used to sample these areas. This approach provides data on abundance at specific locations and allows changes in abundance over time to be monitored.
Identifying Habitat Use, Aggregations and Migrations of Adult Sawfish
By identifying habitats used by sawfish and understanding how, when and why sawfish utilize them, effective conservation measures can be implemented. To study habitat use several methods are employed:
Staff Biologist Beau Yeiser releases a juvenile sawfish tagged in Everglades National Park
© Mote Marine Laboratory
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Field Surveys. Year-round field surveys using longlines, nets, and rod and reel are conducted from Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys. This allows the researchers to catch, measure, tag and track sawfish, and identify habitats and habitat features (salinity, temperature etc) that sawfish are utilizing.
Acoustic tracking. Sawfish are fitted with transmitters (pinging tags) that researchers can actively follow from a boat, allowing fine scale habitat use, diel behavior and responses to tidal changes to be monitored.
Acoustic monitoring. Sawfish are fitted with transmitters which are monitored by moored listening stations. These listening stations record the date and time that each individually coded transmitter is detected. This provides data on site-fidelity, movement, and period of residency within monitored areas.
Satellite tagging. Sawfish are fitted with tags which transmit data on location, depth and water temperature via satellite. Data from these tags are used to investigate long-term habitat use, movement, and possible migration patterns and corridors.
Results of a manual track on a juvenile sawfish in Florida Bay
© Mote Marine Laboratory
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Underwater Video Cameras. Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) cameras are being deployed in areas during sawfish surveys to record behavior, activity, aggregations, and habitat use.
Underwater video camera set up
© Mote Marine Laboratory
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This work is performed under ESA permit #1352 issued by National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources. Funding is provided by National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources, Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, Munson Foundation, Florida Power and Light, and John Ball Zoological Society.
For more information visit The Sawfish Research Project website at www.mote.org/sawfish
To contact The Sawfish Research Project:
Email: sawfish@mote.org
Phone: (800) 691-6683 ext 214.
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