"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
26 Jul 2023
A 13-foot sawfish, a bizarre relative of the ray with a chainsaw for a nose, has been spotted in Florida's Cedar Key, further north than any sawfish sighting in decades. The rare sighting has given hope for the recovery of the endangered species, which was once widespread in the US southeast but saw its numbers plummet due to a variety of factors.
Marine ecologist Dean Grubbs, who was on a fishing trip with some students, caught the mature female sawfish and tagged it for tracking purposes. The tagging will allow biologists to track the animal for 10 years to see where it spends its time. Grubbs and his colleague were encouraged to see that the animal was female and had mating scars, indicating that it was reproducing.
The sawfish nurseries tend to be found in calm waters under and around mangrove trees, and the belief is forming that they are returning to old haunts as part of a slow, steady recovery. Increased protection for mangroves and a ban on gill nets, in which sawfish rostrums were famous for getting trapped, are among the measures contributing to the recovery of the species.
The sighting of the 13-foot sawfish is a positive sign for the recovery of the species and highlights the importance of conservation efforts to protect endangered marine life.
