VIDEO

THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF SAWFISH

0:03
The waters off the Atlantic Coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral are a Mecca for sharks.

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But they're also home to an apex predator that might be mistaken for one the powerful but mysterious sawfish.

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I'm here to meet Dean Grubbs, an associate director at Florida State University's Coastal Marine Laboratory, where he studied sharks and rays.

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Hey, Peter, welcome to speak to you.

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So we're going to go out and find some sawfish this morning.

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That's our plan.

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Dean Spearhead's a recovery team focused on the critically endangered small tooth sawfish.

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There are 5 species of sawfish in the world and all five are listed as the critically endangered species we have is the small tooth sawfish.

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The population really declined over the last half of the 20th century, in part because of habitat loss.

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There was some targeted fisheries for them and then there's a lot of bycatch.

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They still get caught in shrimp trawls to save them from extinction.

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Conservationists need to know how many small toothed sawfish are out here.

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No one really knows for sure.

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After 20 years since the species was listed under the Endangered Species Act, we're seeing a really positive sign to recovery.

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And so we were really optimistic.

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But that of course was before this year.

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This big mortality event happened in early 2024.

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Large numbers of sawfish suddenly started showing up in severe distress.

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They were reported bizarrely swimming in circles and others washed up dead on the beaches.

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More than 50 sawfish died, a huge number for such a small population, and scientists suspected a neurotoxin from a bottom dwelling algae was to blame.

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When I see the videos of these sawfish spinning and beaching themselves, you know that's obviously not normal behavior.

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It's really just disheartening.

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Tracking and testing the software suddenly became a matter of life and death, and that means catching them.

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The team set out nine long lines with 450 hooks on them in total.

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We'll start running line out and then we'll clip fifty of these babes onto each line.

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But it's not only sawfish that are attracted to the bait.

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We catch a lot more sharks than we do sawfish.

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Obviously in our sawfish survey we've caught about 120 sawfish, but we've caught over 4000 sharks.

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As part of Dean's long term shark studies, the team will take measurements and place A tag on any shark they happen to catch as well.

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The sawfish are not really a shark.

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They're more of a ray than a yeah, they look like a shark from the, you know, back half of the body.

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But there they are a ray.

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And so you might think they'd have some sharp cutting type teeth, but they don't at all.

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Their teeth are very much like a Stingray.

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They're using the rostrum to immobilize their prey, and then they're just swallowing that thing whole.

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The huge blade at the end of the sawfish's nose is called the rostrum.

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In some species, it can be over 5 feet long.

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They can do a lot of damage.

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That's why when we catch one, we have to really take care to handle them, right?

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We don't want the sawfish to get injured, but we don't want us to get injured.

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Well, I hope to see my first sawfish up close.

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I hope that's the case too.

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An hour passed, and as if on cue, yeah, there's something tugging.

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It's not a sawfish, but I'm excited nonetheless.

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That's a big hammerhead.

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Yeah, there's a great.

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Yeah, it's a big, great hammerhead.

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I want him on and off in 30 seconds.

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Ready.

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Even a large shark like this one is fragile out of the water.

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The team needs to measure and tag it as quickly as possible.

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Gotta move fast.

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Tag.

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It's OK, We're almost like a pit crew in there.

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You know, NASCAR, we get them in there, we do our work on them safely but effectively and release the animal.

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P 010432.

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We got 1 hook out.

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Both hooks are out.

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We done.

4:15
OK, let's get her off.

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123 in no time flat.

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This shark is back in the water.

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It's like being in an Aqua surgery room.

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That's right.

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According to the tracking data from Sawfish Dean and previously tagged, the sawfish should be out here.

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We're trying to hit all the spots where sawfish have been detected in the past and also where it looks like it's pretty good habitat, but they've eluded us so far.

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I always get hopeful when I see one pulling straight down like that, that it could be a sawfish.

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See, it could be a sawfish.

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Yeah.

4:50
Yeah.

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We've got something on here.

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Is our luck about to change?

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It's a big tiger.

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Big tiger shark.

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He's too big to get on board, I think.

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Here comes the tail to you.

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Here comes the tail shot.

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Grab that tail tight.

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OK, let's get a measurement.

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Some shark species, like this one, go into a state of calm immobility when turned on their backs.

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So the team intentionally flips this female tiger shark over to collect data.

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She is clearly mature, and Dean suspects she may be pregnant.

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We're going to run a quick ultrasound on this female tiger, see if she's pregnant or not.

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Go back to where you just were.

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Just hover around in that area.

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Something there, something there.

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With the ultrasound completed and recorded, we implanted A tag.

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Yeah.

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And to bring her up again.

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OK, There we go.

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Yep.

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OK.

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You ready?

5:50
Yeah, She's free.

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OK, There she goes.

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She goes, all right, all right, good job, team.

6:00
Later that day, Dean checked the ultrasound, and this shark was indeed pregnant.

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This data will help researchers determine when and where tiger sharks give birth.

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Soon after we released the pregnant tiger shark, we caught a feisty spinner shark, T 007848 and then three Atlantic shark nose sharks in rapid succession.

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And then for the total, you just stretch the tail out straight.

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93.

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So when you're looking for a sawfish, you just don't always end up with sawfish.

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You get to meet some of these other beautiful species as well.

Dive into the world of sawfish on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild.

Peter and Dr. Rae travel to the warm waters off the coast of Cape Canaveral to help save critically endangered sawfish. Populations of these ancient ocean mariners have steadily declined from habitat loss and over-fishing, and now a mysterious, widespread infection is once again threatening them with extinction. Peter teams up with researchers who capture wild sawfish to monitor their health and track their migration. Later, Peter and Dr. Rae embark on an international adventure to the Bahamas where wild sawfish numbers are thought to be less than 100. While there, they experience incredible, close-up encounters with captive sawfish and unravel the secrets of their ecology.

Go behind the scenes of the episode, then watch “The Mysterious World of Sawfish” on NBC.com or the NBC app.

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