The smalltooth sawfish is among the most imperilled marine fishes on Earth. Once ranging across 47 countries in the warm-temperate and tropical Atlantic, it has vanished from the majority of its historical range and now reliably persists in only a handful of nations, with the United States (Florida) and The Bahamas holding the last stronghold population [Carlson et al. 2022]. Listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this elasmobranch is instantly recognizable by its long, tooth-studded rostrum, or "saw," which it wields to detect and stun prey. Its combination of late maturity, slow growth, and low reproductive output makes it acutely vulnerable to fishing pressure and habitat loss, and sawfishes collectively are considered the world's most threatened family of marine fishes [Dulvy et al. 2016].
Biology and Identification
The smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata Latham, 1794, is a cartilaginous fish in the family Pristidae (order Rhinopristiformes). Despite a shark-like body, sawfishes are rays: the gill slits sit on the underside of the body and the pectoral fins are broadly joined to the head [Carlson et al. 2022]. The species can reach a total length of roughly 5.5 m, with the rostrum comprising about 21–30% of total length [Brame et al. 2019].
The defining feature is the elongate, narrow rostrum bearing 20–32 pairs of lateral "teeth" (modified dermal denticles). These rostral teeth are not shed and replaced; if a tooth is lost entirely it is not regrown, though chipped teeth with intact bases continue growing with the animal [Brame et al. 2019]. The rostrum is studded with electroreceptive ampullae of Lorenzini, functioning as both a sensory antenna for detecting buried or schooling prey and a feeding tool used to slash and impale fishes.
Diet is dominated by teleost fishes. Molecular analysis of prey items found that fishes such as mullets made up the large majority of identifiable dietary DNA, confirming the species as a piscivore across life stages [Hancock et al. 2019]. Trophic studies of juveniles in Florida estuaries corroborate a fish-based diet with ontogenetic shifts in prey use [Poulakis et al. 2017].
Reproduction is lecithotrophic and viviparous: females produce litters of well-developed live young, with reported litter sizes of approximately 7–14 pups born at 0.6–0.8 m total length [Brame et al. 2019]. Late age at maturity, multi-year reproductive cycles, and small litters yield a low intrinsic rate of population increase, the central reason the species recovers slowly from depletion [Dulvy et al. 2016].
Habitat and Range
Historically, Pristis pectinata occurred throughout the tropical and warm-temperate Atlantic, including the western Atlantic from the southeastern United States through the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Brazil, and the eastern Atlantic along West Africa and the Mediterranean [Carlson et al. 2022]. It is thought to have undergone the largest range contraction of any sawfish and is now present in a small fraction of its former range, having been extirpated or rendered functionally absent across much of the Caribbean, South America, and the eastern Atlantic [Dulvy et al. 2016].
Today, the only well-documented population that still produces young consistently occurs in the southeastern United States, principally peninsular Florida, with additional records from The Bahamas [Carlson et al. 2022]. Within Florida, encounter records concentrate along the southwest coast, and long-term monitoring continues to track juveniles in estuarine systems such as Charlotte Harbor [Sutton et al. 2025].
The species is strongly associated with shallow coastal and estuarine habitats. Juveniles depend on warm, shallow, brackish nurseries fringed by red mangroves, while larger juveniles and adults use deeper coastal waters, including reef and shelf habitats [Brame et al. 2019]. Mangrove-lined shorelines and shallow euryhaline zones are essential nursery features, and the loss or alteration of these habitats is a major conservation concern [Carlson et al. 2022].
In accordance with NRWL sensitive-species policy, specific site locations, seasonal movement details, and den or nest coordinates are not disclosed in this article.
Conservation Status
Pristis pectinata is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, assessed in 2022 under criterion A2cd, reflecting an inferred population reduction of more than 80% driven by exploitation and habitat decline [Carlson et al. 2022]. The IUCN population trend is assessed as decreasing [Carlson et al. 2022]. All sawfishes are likewise classified among the most threatened marine fish families, with global extinction risk identified as extremely high [Dulvy et al. 2016].
Internationally, the smalltooth sawfish is listed on Appendix I of CITES, which prohibits commercial international trade in the species and its parts, including rostra and fins [Carlson et al. 2022]. The species is also protected under national legislation in several range states.
In the United States, the U.S. distinct population segment (DPS) was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2003, the first marine fish to receive such protection [Brame et al. 2019]. Range-wide abundance estimates remain difficult because of the species' rarity, but the U.S. population is considered the largest remaining and shows tentative signs of stabilization following decades of decline, even as juvenile abundance indices in some core estuaries indicate continuing local declines [Sutton et al. 2025]. Outside the United States and The Bahamas, the status across the former range is largely one of presumed extirpation or critically low, undocumented remnants [Dulvy et al. 2016].
Threats
The primary threats to smalltooth sawfish are well documented and stem from the species' shallow-water habits and toothed rostrum:
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Fisheries bycatch and entanglement. The rostrum is readily entangled in gillnets, trawls, and other gear, making sawfishes highly susceptible to incidental capture even where they are not targeted; this bycatch mortality is regarded as the foremost driver of decline [Dulvy et al. 2016].
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Historical and ongoing exploitation. Sawfishes have been valued for their fins, meat, and distinctive rostra (sold as curios), creating commercial incentives that historically intensified capture across the range [Carlson et al. 2022].
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Habitat loss and degradation. Coastal development, mangrove removal, and alteration of estuarine flow degrade the shallow nursery habitats juveniles require, reducing survival of young age classes [Brame et al. 2019].
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Low biological resilience. Late maturity, long generation time, and small litters mean populations rebuild slowly, so even modest added mortality can prevent recovery [Dulvy et al. 2016].
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Climate-related habitat shifts. Changing temperature and salinity regimes can alter the availability of suitable shallow nursery habitat over time, an emerging concern for a species tightly tied to specific estuarine conditions [Carlson et al. 2022].
What Is Being Done
A coordinated set of legal protections and recovery actions now supports the species. In the United States, the National Marine Fisheries Service published the Recovery Plan for Smalltooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in 2009, setting recovery criteria aimed at eventually downlisting the U.S. DPS from endangered to threatened [NOAA Fisheries 2009]. In the same year, NOAA Fisheries designated critical habitat for the U.S. DPS, protecting extensive areas of southwest Florida estuarine nursery habitat [NOAA Fisheries 2009].
Internationally, the listing of Pristis pectinata on CITES Appendix I prohibits commercial international trade and reinforces national protections across range states [Carlson et al. 2022]. The IUCN Shark Specialist Group has advanced a Global Sawfish Conservation Strategy that prioritizes bycatch reduction, habitat protection, and the identification of remaining "lifeboat" populations as the foundation for sawfish recovery worldwide [Dulvy et al. 2016].
Long-term scientific monitoring underpins these efforts. State and academic programs in Florida maintain encounter databases and conduct standardized juvenile sampling in core estuaries, providing the abundance indices used to evaluate recovery progress [Brame et al. 2019; Sutton et al. 2025]. Molecular and trophic research continues to clarify diet, habitat use, and population structure, improving the evidence base for management decisions [Hancock et al. 2019; Poulakis et al. 2017].
How Readers Can Help
Members of the public can contribute meaningfully to sawfish science and recovery. In the United States, encounters with sawfish can be reported to the National Sawfish Encounter Database maintained by research institutions and to relevant state wildlife agencies; verified sighting reports help scientists map remaining populations and track recovery [Brame et al. 2019]. When reporting, note the date, general area, and approximate size, and avoid handling or removing animals from the water.
Anglers can reduce harm by learning safe release practices appropriate to their region and by supporting catch-and-release guidance from fisheries authorities [NOAA Fisheries 2009]. Consumers can favor seafood certified under credible sustainability standards, reducing demand for fisheries with high elasmobranch bycatch [Dulvy et al. 2016]. Supporting mangrove and estuary conservation—through local habitat-restoration volunteering or informed engagement with coastal-management policy—helps protect the nursery habitats juveniles depend upon [Carlson et al. 2022]. Sharing accurate information about sawfishes also builds the public awareness that sustains long-term conservation.
References
[Brame et al. 2019] Brame, A.B., Wiley, T.R., Carlson, J.K., Fordham, S.V., Grubbs, R.D., Osborne, J., Scharer, R.M., Bethea, D.M. & Poulakis, G.R. (2019). Biology, ecology, and status of the smalltooth sawfish Pristis pectinata in the USA. Endangered Species Research, 39, 9–23. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00952
[Carlson et al. 2022] Carlson, J., Brusher, J., Charvet, P., Dulvy, N.K., Espinoza, M., Fordham, S., Grubbs, D., Pollom, R. & Simpfendorfer, C. (2022). Pristis pectinata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T18175A249881355. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T18175A249881355.en
[Dulvy et al. 2016] Dulvy, N.K., Davidson, L.N.K., Kyne, P.M., Simpfendorfer, C.A., Harrison, L.R., Carlson, J.K. & Fordham, S.V. (2016). Ghosts of the coast: global extinction risk and conservation of sawfishes. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 26(1), 134–153. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2525
[Hancock et al. 2019] Hancock, T.L., Poulakis, G.R., Scharer, R.M., Tolley, S.G. & Urakawa, H. (2019). High-resolution molecular identification of smalltooth sawfish prey. Scientific Reports, 9, 18307. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-53931-7
[NOAA Fisheries 2009] National Marine Fisheries Service (2009). Recovery Plan for Smalltooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinata). NOAA Fisheries, Silver Spring, MD. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/recovery-plan-smalltooth-sawfish-pristis-pectinata
[Poulakis et al. 2017] Poulakis, G.R., Urakawa, H., Stevens, P.W., DeAngelo, J.A., Timmers, A.A., Grubbs, R.D., Fisk, A.T. & Olin, J.A. (2017). Sympatric elasmobranchs and fecal samples provide insight into the trophic ecology of the smalltooth sawfish. Endangered Species Research, 32, 491–506. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00824
[Sutton et al. 2025] Sutton, T.M. and colleagues (2025). Long-term random sampling confirms high-use areas and indicates declining abundance of juvenile smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in Charlotte Harbor, Florida. Scientific Reports, 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14430-0