Largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis)

Largetooth sawfish
(Pristis pristis)

TAXONOMY AND NAMING

Class : Chondrichthyes
Subclass : Elasmobranchii
Order : Rhinopristiformes
Family : Pristidae
Genus/species : Pristis
Common names :
English : Largetooth sawfish
Spanish : Pez sierra común
French : Poisson-scie commun

Largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis)©Pedro Vieyra

ANATOMY AND MORPHOLOGY

The Largetooth Sawfish (Pristis pristis) is a large ray species (6.5+ m total length). The maximum reported size of Largetooth Sawfish is 656 cm TL, although it has been estimated up to 700 cm TL. Very large individuals are now rarely seen anywhere.

DISTRIBUTION AND LIFE HISTORY

The life history of Largetooth Sawfish, like many elasmobranchs, is characterized by slow growth, late maturity, and low fecundity, which generally contributes to a low intrinsic rate of increase. To reproduce, eggs are hatched inside the mother’s ovaries and nourished from the yolk only. A maximum age of 35 years has been estimated and age at maturity at 8-10 years in northern Australia.

The Largetooth Sawfish is associated with shallow coastal areas, mangroves and estuaries. Juveniles occur in freshwater systems and adults in marine and estuarine environments. Pristis pristis is thought to migrate regularly between marine and freshwater habitats. As the species is migratory for at least part of its adult life, any national conservation initiative intended to prevent these Critically Endangered species from being driven further towards extinction is unlikely to be successful if Sawfishes are not protected during their seasonal migrations through other range States’ waters. This is a particular problem when the population is distributed along a coastline that is divided into a large number of small countries, as is the case in the Central Caribbean.

largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) geographic range©IUCN red list

THREATS

A productivity-susceptibility analysis shows the five species of the family Pristidae are the most threatened elasmobranchs in the world, as a result of their high exposure to coastal shallow-water fisheries and their sow life history and large body size.

Sawfish are highly sought after for the curio trade in their distinctive rostrum, their large fins are valuable for shark fin soup in Asia and in the past their meat has been actively traded. Their slow growth rate and the late maturation makes all sawfish vulnerable to over exploitation. In the case largetooth sawfish the overlap of their habitat with heavily fished areas makes them exceptionally vulnerable to extinction.

In addition, the shallow coastal, brackish and freshwater habitats of sawfishes are often associated with high levels of human activity, which may result in degradation or loss of habitat through pollution, prey depletion, and coastal or riverine developments, including mangrove clearance, canal development and construction of seawalls.

ABUNDANCE AND CONSERVATION STATUS

All subpopulations of the species have undergone significant population declines and the species is now apparently extirpated from large areas of its former range in the Western Atlantic due to unsustainable fishing pressure and habitat destruction.

The IUCN Shark Specialist Group has placed all sawfishes at the top of the list of most threatened elasmobranch families and the large tooth sawfish has been assessed as critically endangered in the latest red list assessment.

PROTECTION STATUS

Worldwide measures are being taken to prevent further depletion and help the species to recover. The species has national protection status in the US, Belize, Brazil, Nicaragua (freshwater only) and the European Union. In 2014 the IUCN Shark Specialist Group together with its partners published a Global Strategy for the conservation of sawfish.

SPAW Protocol : yes since 2019 _ Annex II

CITES : yes_ Annex I

International Plans of Actions for Conservation and Management of Sharks (IPOA-Sharks) : yes since 1999

CMS : yes

Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (Sharks MoU)  : yes _ Annex I

US Endangered Species Act : yes since 2003

Prohibited species list of the TAC & Quota regulation os the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy : yes

Bibliography
Proposal for the uplisting of largetooth sawfish in the Annexes of the SPAW Protocol