Conditions were great this week, up until the weekend. As most of us saw, some pretty nasty winds and rain came in. There were even thunderstorm warnings throughout the Keys.
Before it got ugly, we had a big group of divers down from Fort Lauderdale. Aquatic Ventures brought down around 20 divers to see our famous Florida Keys reefs and wrecks. Additionally, they were in for a treat: we happened across a very rare, endangered 12-foot smalltooth sawfish.
According to the FWC, sawfish are unique fish that have a long, hedge trimmer-like “saw” extending out from their heads. This is called their rostrum, and it has “teeth” on both sides of it. Sawfish can use their saw to stir up the bottom to expose hidden prey or to slash sideways into schools of fish to catch any wounded prey.
They’re related to sharks and rays, and are born around 2 feet long. They can grow up to 17 feet long.
Historically, these fish were commonly seen in Florida. You can find old pictures from marinas all around the state showing fishermen with many huge sawfish. Unfortunately, they’ve become rare to see and even endangered. This is because they are often unintentionally caught in fishing gear when their saws get entangled. Sawfish rostrums were also popular trophy fishing items, and they were caught for these as well.
They produce few young. Therefore, since their depletion, it has been difficult for their population numbers to recover. If sawfish are caught accidentally while fishing, FWC should be contacted, and the endangered species should be released unharmed.
Because of all this, these majestic creatures are very rarely seen by divers. This makes it even more special whenever we see one. A colleague of ours, Tony Young of Forever Young Charters, saw an incredible school of 20-plus sawfish on the same day! This is unheard of, and we all feel very lucky to have seen them.
Next Week’s Dive Report
Next week, the forecast looks very favorable for ocean activities. This should stay relatively consistent throughout the week. Come Sunday, forecasts call for high winds coming through.
Conservation Update
We welcomed a big group of around 20 coral planters on Saturday. They helped us get new, endangered corals back onto the reef. With luck, good conditions, and lots of volunteer hours, these will continue to grow into the reefs of the future that can support amazing species like sawfish.
All our monitoring shows that the hard work being put in by I.CARE and all its community partners is paying off. The new corals are thriving!
Conservation Tip
Sightings of sawfish are so rare that there’s a hotline to report them (1-844-472-9347 / 1-844-4SAWFISH). Scientists and researchers focused on conserving and protecting sawfish investigate reported sightings in hopes of learning more about this incredible fish.
I.CARE Tip
I.CARE coral planting trips will run with Key Dives this week.
