# Sawfish — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Family Pristidae — five species, including Pristis pristis and Pristis pectinata*

> Sawfish are rays with a long tooth-lined rostrum used to sense and strike prey; all five species are threatened and most are Critically Endangered, largely because the rostrum entangles in fishing nets.

**IUCN status:** Critically Endangered — among the most threatened marine fish on Earth  ·  **WARN range:** Tropical and subtropical coastal waters, estuaries and rivers, Once widespread; now reduced to a fraction of their historic range

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Group | Rays, not sharks |
| Species | 5, all threatened |
| Maximum length | ~7 m (largetooth sawfish) |
| Rostrum | Electroreceptive; denticles are not replaced |
| Habitat | Coasts, estuaries and far up rivers |
| Trade status | CITES Appendix I |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Chondrichthyes
- **Order:** Rhinopristiformes
- **Family:** Pristidae
- **Genera:** Pristis, Anoxypristis

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Critically Endangered (most species)
- **Population:** Severely reduced; locally extinct across much of the historic range
- **Trend:** Decreasing
- **Assessed:** 2013 onward, by species
- **CITES:** Appendix I
- Most mortality is incidental capture rather than targeted fishing, so gear modification and safe-release training are the highest-leverage interventions.

## Key facts: Sawfish
- Sawfish are rays, not sharks, despite the elongated body shape.
- The rostrum both detects prey electrically and strikes it.
- The same rostrum entangles in nets, making them exceptionally vulnerable.
- All five species are threatened; most are Critically Endangered.
- They have been lost from a large proportion of their historic range countries.

## The rostrum
A sawfish's saw is an extension of the skull, lined along both edges with modified denticles that are not true teeth and are not replaced if broken. It is covered in ampullae of Lorenzini — the same electroreceptive organs sharks use — allowing the animal to detect prey buried in mud or moving in turbid water.

In use, the sawfish sweeps or slashes the rostrum sideways to stun or impale small fish, then eats them off the seabed. It is one of the few fish structures that serves as both a sensor and a weapon.

## Why nets are so lethal to them
The rostrum snags in gillnets, trawls and almost any mesh a sawfish encounters. Once entangled the animal usually cannot free itself, and fishers frequently cut the rostrum off to recover the net — which is fatal, because the animal can no longer feed.

This makes sawfish vulnerable even in fisheries that have no interest in catching them, and it is the central reason for their collapse. Reducing sawfish mortality is largely about gear, handling training and safe-release protocols rather than about stopping targeted fishing.

## Rivers as well as sea
Several sawfish species move far up rivers, and the largetooth sawfish has been recorded hundreds of kilometres inland in freshwater systems. That habit exposes them to a second set of pressures: river damming, water extraction, habitat modification and inland fisheries.

Mangrove loss compounds it. Juvenile sawfish depend on shallow mangrove nurseries, and mangrove clearance for aquaculture and development removes the habitat the next generation needs.

## A recoverable species, with effort
Sawfish are protected under CITES Appendix I, and international trade in rostra — long sold as curios — is banned. Some populations, notably in northern Australia and parts of Florida, remain viable and are the basis for recovery.

What works is unglamorous: gear modification, trained safe-release, mangrove nursery protection, and paying attention to river systems as well as coasts. The species' extreme vulnerability to nets means small changes in fishing practice produce disproportionate gains.

## What WARN does
WARN publishes free, sourced species education for animals whose decline is driven by incidental capture rather than deliberate targeting. Sawfish are the clearest example in the sea: most are killed by fishers who did not want them, which makes gear and handling training the highest-leverage intervention available.

If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.

## Frequently asked questions: Sawfish
### Are sawfish sharks?
No, they are rays. Despite the elongated shark-like body, sawfish belong to the family Pristidae within the rays, with gill slits on the underside of the body as rays have rather than on the sides as sharks do.

### What is a sawfish's saw for?
Both sensing and striking. The rostrum is covered in electroreceptors that detect prey buried in sediment or moving in murky water, and the sawfish then sweeps it sideways to stun or impale small fish.

### Why are sawfish so endangered?
The rostrum entangles in almost any net, so sawfish are caught even in fisheries that do not target them, and entangled animals often have the rostrum cut off to free the gear, which is fatal. Mangrove nursery loss and river modification compound it. All five species are threatened.

### Do sawfish live in rivers?
Yes, several species do. The largetooth sawfish has been recorded hundreds of kilometres up rivers in fresh water, which exposes it to damming, water extraction and inland fisheries as well as coastal pressures.

### What do sawfish eat?
Sawfish eat 5 — Sawfish species, all threatened. Sawfish are rays with a long tooth-lined rostrum used to sense and strike prey; all five species are threatened and most are Critically Endangered, largely because the rostrum entangles in fishing nets.

### Where do sawfish live?
Sawfish live in Coasts, estuaries and far up rivers. Sawfish are rays with a long tooth-lined rostrum used to sense and strike prey; all five species are threatened and most are Critically Endangered, largely because the rostrum entangles in fishing nets.

### Are sawfish dangerous?
Sawfish are not generally dangerous to people. Sawfish are rays with a long tooth-lined rostrum used to sense and strike prey; all five species are threatened and most are Critically Endangered, largely because the rostrum entangles in fishing nets. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

### How long do sawfish live?
A precise wild lifespan for sawfish is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. Sawfish are rays with a long tooth-lined rostrum used to sense and strike prey; all five species are threatened and most are Critically Endangered, largely because the rostrum entangles in fishing nets. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

### How big is a sawfish?
A Sawfish is about ~7 m (largetooth sawfish). Sawfish are rays with a long tooth-lined rostrum used to sense and strike prey; all five species are threatened and most are Critically Endangered, largely because the rostrum entangles in fishing nets. Conservation status: CITES Appendix I.

## Sources
- [IUCN Red List — Pristidae](https://www.iucnredlist.org/)
- [CITES Appendices](https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/sawfish