Sawfish On The Brink Of Extinction, Gone In Over Half Its Natural Habitats

There are lots of unique, wild-looking fish living under the sea — and the sawfish is definitely one of them! But if we don’t act now to save the positively prehistoric ocean- and freshwater-dwellers, future generations may never catch glimpses of the “hedge trimmers with fins.”

So what's behind the sawfish decline? Commercial fishing is the animal's primary opponent. Industrial nets snag their once-useful "saws," and individuals meet their ends as bycatch. Pollution and habitat loss also present problems — as does marine poaching for teeth and fins, which are prized as trophies and traditional medicine elements. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature categorizes three of the five sawfish species as Critically Endangered and two as Endangered.