What is the name of this fish? The first thing that catches your eye is the saw on its nose. I don't know if it's really as hard as a saw, or if it's soft despite its appearance, but it's definitely shaped like a saw. One more thing, is this fish a ray or a shark? Looking at its broad pectoral fins, it looks like a ray, but its dorsal fin looks like a shark.

This fish is called the 'sawfish'. That means it's a ray, not a shark. The saw on its nose is actually the sawfish's teeth. Sawfish use their saw to attack animals that harm them or to hunt prey. The sawfish's saw is said to be 1/3 the length of its body. Its threatening appearance makes you worry that it might hurt people, but as long as you don't attack it first, you won't be attacked.

Sawfish are classified as endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The critically endangered sawfish are threatened with extinction due to indiscriminate capture by humans due to their unique appearance. They were often caught for trading their teeth, fins, and other parts. As a result, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) designated sawfish as a protected species in 2007 and banned illegal capture and international trade. However, due to the sawfish's long saw, it is often caught accidentally in nets used to catch other fish.

As shown in the map above, sawfish live in the coastal waters of Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia. To prevent overfishing of sawfish and protect sawfish, Australia has designated protected areas.

The endangerment of sawfish is also related to their habitat. Sawfish living on the coast are vulnerable to various wastewater flowing from land, oil spills from ships, etc. Their habitat in Southeast Asia has decreased by about 30% compared to 1980.

The Florida Museum of Natural History is building a sawfish tracking database to protect sawfish. If you happen to find a sawfish, reporting information about the sawfish's condition, the time and place where you found the sawfish, etc. to the museum will be a great help for research.

The first step to preventing the extinction of sawfish is to not catch them. If you happen to catch a sawfish while fishing, you should release it. It is also important to cherish the marine environment to protect the habitats of sawfish as well as many other marine organisms. The wastewater you discard may seem like a very small amount compared to the vast ocean, but the damage it causes to the many living creatures in that water immediately is not small at all. I hope you keep this in mind.