Temporal Reductions in the Distribution and Abundance of U.S. Atlantic Sawfishes ( Pristis spp .)

1. Temporal Reductions in the Distribution and Abundance of U.S. Atlantic Sawfishes (Pristis spp.) George H. BurgessandTobey H. Curtis Florida Program for Shark Research Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida

2. “Like an axe murderer, he’s been in the headlines…There have been assertions that sawfish stalk bathers…and cut them in two. According to old whaling journals, the saws hunted whales in packs and sliced them up like so much salami. There are even accounts of sawfish attacking men in dories -- after reducing the boats to driftwood.” --Field and Stream (1959)

3. Where have the Sawfish gone??

4. Where have the Sawfish gone?? Habitat Loss Fishing Mortality

5. 300 + records from the Indian River Lagoon “an abundant species, permanently resident in the Indian River.” (Evermann and Bean, 1897) Photo  Tobey Curtis

6. Extirpated from the Indian River Lagoon “The disappearance of this large ray from the Indian River system has been dramatic.” (Snelson and Williams, 1981) Photo  Tobey Curtis

8. Entanglement - Gillnets - Longlines

9. # Records # Specimens Pristis pectinata 359 765 Pristis perotteti 8 13 Pristis sp. 7 10 TOTAL 374 788 Sawfish Database Summary

10. P. pectinata 24+ teeth each side of rostrum P. perotteti < 20 teeth each side of rostrum

12. P. perotteti records 1. 1940, Texas, 1 specimen 2. 1941, Florida, 1 specimen 3. 1941, Florida, 1 specimen 4. 1943, Texas, 6 specimens 5. 1943, Texas, 1 specimen 6. 1943, Texas, 1 specimen 7. 1943, Texas, 1 specimen 8. ????, Alabama?, 1 specimen

13. ? P. perotteti capture locations (N=4)

14. P. pectinata

15. Numbers of Pristis pectinata captured by State 1782-2003 (N = 762) 681 19 19 16 8 5 4 3 3 2 1 1 0

16. N P. pectinata capture locations 1782-2003 (N=150)

17. N P. pectinata capture locations 1900-2003 (N=125)

18. N P. pectinata capture locations 1950-2003 (N=91)

19. N P. pectinata capture locations 1985-2003 (N=52)

20. Recent Record: 18 July 2002 East of Savannah, Georgia -- First sawfish captured north of Florida since 1963 -- Photo  Tobey Curtis

21. Numbers of Pristis pectinata captured 1782-2000 (N = 729) and Atlantic/Gulf Fishery Landings 1880-2000 SFNRC Recreational Fishery Database (T. Schmidt) Pre-1900 1900-1919 1920-1939 1940-1959 1960-1979 1980-2000

22. All Areas Florida Length Frequency of Pristis pectinata captured 1782-2003 (N = 106) 294 kg 460 cm TL

23. Endangered Species Act U.S. Federal Register April 1, 2003

24. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - Sawfish Status Review Team - William Adams, Steve Branstetter, Jose Castro, Jennifer Lee, Jack Musick - Colin Simpfendorfer, Mote Marine Laboratory - Tom Schmidt, South Florida Natural Resources Center - All Museum curators who shared records - All other scientists and fishers who shared records - Barbara O’Bannon, NMFS Fisheries Statistics Office - Rebecca Murray, Rachel Worthen, Kevin Coyne, Craig Knickle, and Jamie Barichivich (FLMNH) for early literature review, database organization, and data analysis - Funding from NOAA/NMFS to the National Shark Research Consortium