Endangered smalltooth sawfish, marine creatures virtually unchanged for millions of years, are showing erratic behavior, spinning around and dying in unusual numbers in Florida waters. Federal and state wildlife agencies want to know why as they begin an effort to rescue and rehabilitate the ancient species.
This image provided by NOAA shows a smalltooth sawfish. 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. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.
“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.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 . They were once found all along the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coasts in the U.S.
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., 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.
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Sawfish are spinning, and dying, in Florida waters as rescue effort beginsEndangered smalltooth sawfish, marine creatures virtually unchanged for millions of years, are showing erratic behavior, spinning around and dying in unusual numbers in Florida waters
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Sawfish are spinning, and dying, in Florida waters as rescue effort beginsEndangered smalltooth sawfish, marine creatures virtually unchanged for millions of years, are showing erratic behavior, spinning around and dying in unusual numbers in Florida waters.
Read more »
Sawfish are spinning, and dying, in Florida waters as rescue effort beginsEndangered smalltooth sawfish, marine creatures virtually unchanged for millions of years, are showing erratic behavior, spinning around and dying in unusual numbers in Florida waters.
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