North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Emailed in today ...

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Dear Fish Finder team,

Can you help us find out what’s happening to sawfish?

I’m writing on behalf of Barbara Wueringer, the director of Sharks and Rays Australia (SARA).

Last year we asked Australians for their sawfish sightings – live fish, a saw on the wall of the local pub, or even a photo from your family album. Hundreds of people replied.

Thanks to these responses, Barbara and her team now know the Brisbane River was once a sawfish nursery, that juveniles have been reported down the WA coast, and that some may still reside in NSW waters.

Past and present sawfish populations in some areas still remain a mystery. In particular, Barbara and her colleagues now want to know if there are any in net-free zones in Weipa and Queensland’s east coast.

Forty years ago, sawfish were regularly seen off Sydney and the east coast, around Perth and up the western seaboard. Today they’re rarely seen outside of the Gulf of Carpentaria, NT and the Kimberley.

Your sightings, no matter how long ago they happened, will help Barbara’s team work out how many sawfish there used to be, how many remain, and how we can help them recover.

Here’s a copy of a media release we’ve issued about the findings. You can report sightings and find out more about the project at https://saw.fish, and follow the project on social media at @SharksAndRaysAu.

Please share this information with your networks.