Current:Home > NewsSawfish are spinning, and dying, in Florida waters as rescue effort begins -Golden Summit Finance
Sawfish are spinning, and dying, in Florida waters as rescue effort begins
View
Date:2025-04-15 23:03:39
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Endangered smalltooth sawfish, marine creatures virtually unchanged for millions of years, are exhibiting erratic spinning behavior and dying in unusual numbers in Florida waters. Federal and state wildlife agencies are beginning an effort to rescue and rehabilitate sawfish to find out why.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced what it calls an “emergency response” focused on the Florida Keys starting next week. A NOAA news release called the effort unprecedented.
“If the opportunity presents itself, this would be the first attempt ever to rescue and rehabilitate smalltooth sawfish from the wild,” said Adam Brame, NOAA Fisheries’ sawfish recovery coordinator.
Sawfish, related to rays, skates and sharks, are named for their elongated, flat snout that contains a row of teeth on each side. They can live for decades and grow quite large, some as long as 16 feet (about 5 meters). They were once found all along the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coasts in the U.S., but now are mainly in southwestern Florida and the Keys island chain as their habitats shrink. A related species is found off Australia.
Since late January, state wildlife officials have been documenting what they call an “unusual mortality event” that has affected about 109 sawfish and killed at least 28 of them. There have been reports of abnormal behavior, such as the fish seen spinning or whirling in the water. Other species of fish also appear to have been affected.
“We suspect that total mortalities are greater, since sawfish are negatively buoyant and thus unlikely to float after death,” Brame said.
Officials haven’t isolated a cause. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported Wednesday that sawfish necropsies have not revealed any pathogen or bacterial infections, nor problems with low water oxygen levels or contaminants such as chemicals, or toxic red tide. Water testing is continuing.
It’s also not clear if the deaths and odd behaviors are related to a lengthy summer heat wave in Florida waters experts say was driven by climate change. The superheated waters caused other marine damage, such a coral bleaching and deaths of other ocean species.
The wildlife agencies are working with three organizations that will rehabilitate sawfish that are rescued. One of them, Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, said in a news release that even relatively small numbers of sawfish deaths could have a major impact on the population, listed as endangered since 2003.
“We have quarantine facilities ready to accommodate rescued sawfish where they would be under observation by qualified personnel under specific care and release guidelines,” said Kathryn Flowers, Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellow and lead scientist on the sawfish issue. “Attempts to solve this mystery call for robust collaboration.”
Brame said the effort depends on tips and sightings from the public of dead or distressed sawfish so rescuers know where to look for them. NOAA has a tipline at 844-4-Sawfish and FWC has an email, [email protected].
In recent years, threatened manatees also suffered a major die-off in Florida waters as pollution killed much of their seagrass food source. State and federal officials fed tons of lettuce to manatees that gathered in winter outside a power plant for two years, and the manatee numbers have rebounded some with 555 deaths recorded in 2023 compared with a record 1,100 in 2021.
veryGood! (645)
Related
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
- Review: Tony Shalhoub makes the 'Monk' movie an obsessively delightful reunion
- 11 dead in clash between criminal gang and villagers in central Mexico
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Only Permitted Great Lakes Offshore Wind Farm Put on Hold
- Massachusetts attorney general files civil rights lawsuit against white nationalist group
- West Virginia appeals court reverses $7M jury award in Ford lawsuit involving woman’s crash death
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Biden thanks police for acting during UNLV shooting, renews calls for gun control measures
Ranking
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Massachusetts attorney general files civil rights lawsuit against white nationalist group
- Hunter Biden indicted on tax crimes by special counsel
- Lawmakers seek action against Elf Bar and other fruity e-cigarettes imported from China
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Privacy concerns persist in transgender sports case after Utah judge seals only some health records
- U.S. and UAE-backed initiative announces $9 billion more for agricultural innovation projects
- Ashlyn Harris Steps Out With Sophia Bush at Art Basel Amid Ali Krieger Divorce
Recommendation
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
Police in Dominica probe the killing of a Canadian couple who owned eco-resort
Man dies a day after exchange of gunfire with St. Paul police officer
Local New Hampshire newspaper publisher found guilty of political advertisement omissions
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Scientists to COP28: ‘We’re Clearly in The Danger Zone’
Derek Hough Shares Update on Wife Hayley Erbert’s Health After Skull Surgery
Hong Kong’s new election law thins the candidate pool, giving voters little option in Sunday’s polls