Largetooth Sawfish Conservation

While sawfishes (Pisces: Pristidae) were once globally common, today they are among the most threatened elasmobranchs (sharks, rays and skates) in the world. All sawfish species are listed as "Critically Endangered" by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and in 2007 all but one were listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (Pristis microdon was listed in Appendix II).

The largetooth sawfish (Pristis perotteti) and the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) are the only species of sawfish inhabiting U.S. waters. Overfishing and habitat destruction, coupled with low intrinsic rates of population increase, have resulted in the decline of both sawfish species from most of their original U.S. ranges. Smalltooth sawfish are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The serious depletion of the U.S. populations of both sawfish species was the basis for the Ocean Conservancy's petition in 1999 to list them as endangered under the ESA. On March 10, 2000, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published its determination (65 FR 12959) that the petition presented substantial information for listing the smalltooth sawfish under the ESA, and on April 1, 2003 the U.S. distinct population segment (DPS) of smalltooth sawfish was listed as endangered (68 FR 15674). However, NMFS determined that the petition did not present substantial information supporting the listing of largetooth sawfish. Data for largetooth sawfish was and remains very limited, not only for U.S. but also geographically separated global populations. The only documented life history parameters come from studies carried out by Thorson in Lake Nicaragua, and published U.S. largetooth data is restricted to a distributional note, and a taxonomic treatise. Therefore, NMFS declared that the largetooth sawfish would be retained as a candidate species (65 FR 12959), and continued solicitation of data in order to resolve its status. The largetooth sawfish is currently listed on the NMFS "Species of Concern" list.

Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical Habitat: Notice of Finding on a Petition To List the Largetooth Sawfish (Pristis perotteti) as an Endangered or Threatened Species Under the Endangered Species Act (Federal Register: July 29, 2009)