AD 2017 Q3

DIVE SLATE
DIVING WITH DINOSAURS
a difficult shot of my buddy swimming alongside a huge
17-foot-long pregnant female. She would eventually give
birth in a remote estuary to live young, and the babies,
when delivered, would have a gel-like substance covering
their flexible little rostrums to keep them from injuring
their mother. The little sawfish prefer shallow water,
while the adults venture into deeper neighborhoods.
These poorly studied creatures even venture into
freshwater rivers in many parts of their range.
The smalltooth sawfish once ranged from New
York to Texas along the eastern seaboard of the
United States, but coastal development (which is
especially detrimental to the young) and unsustainable
harvest (for food and trophies) reduced their numbers
to less than 5 percent of what they had been. One
hundred years ago these animals were widespread in
Florida and especially common in the Indian River
Lagoon. There are old reports of fishermen catching
as many as 300 in a single season there. But by the
1980s scientists weren’t finding any there or in many
other traditional hotspots. The International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the smalltooth
sawfish as critically endangered.
“SMALLTOOTH SAWFISH (PRISTIS PECTINATA) ARE ONE OF THE
MOST PECULIAR SUBJECTS I’VE EVER PHOTOGRAPHED. THEY’RE
A BRIDGE TO A DISTANT PAST, SOME 56 MILLION YEARS AGO,
WHEN THE EARTH WAS A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE.”
Sawfish technically are rays and belong to
the Pristidae family. The world’s other sawfish species
aren’t faring well. Making their primary residence in
shallow, murky and brackish habitats near shore, they
all have dramatically declined in number for the same
reasons as the American sawfish population. Adding
insult to injury, fishermen target them for the fin trade.
Most smalltooth sawfish live in Florida, especially
in the maze of murky and remote channels in the
Everglades. In 2003 the smalltooth became the
first marine fish to receive protection under the
Endangered Species Act. The International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists them as critically
endangered. Of all the sawfish species, it’s probably
the one with the best chance of recovery, given the
protections in place. Recovery will take time though
— maybe 100 years or more, according to experts
such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). But recovery is an important
and righteous goal, and sawfish are one of the most
fascinating animals a diver will ever see. AD
BUNAKEN WALL DIVING
EXPLORE 3 DISTINCT DIVE DESTINATIONS
DIVE ON TRAVEL DAYS BETWEEN RESORTS
HASSLE-FREE DIVE BOAT TRANSFERS
2
BANGKA REEF DIVING
1
AN UNFORGETTABLE DIVING ADVENTURE
3
LEMBEH MUCK DIVING
LEARN MORE: WWW.MUREXDIVE.COM/P2P
26 | SUMMER 2017