Rescued Sawfish Euthanized at Mote Marine

The unusual behavior of different fish species, including the endangered smalltooth sawfish, persists in the Florida Keys. They have been reported swimming around in circles, struggling to stay upright, and poking their heads out of the water before their ultimate deaths. Researchers have been frantically searching for answers to the cause of this abnormality and when Mote Marine Laboratories rescued a distressed sawfish on April 5, they thought they might finally get some answers. 

Things were looking up for the rescued sawfish. It was even deemed stable enough to make the several-hour trek to another Mote holding facility in Sarasota for more extensive rehabilitation treatment on April 11. The Florida Wildlife Conservation, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Mote Marine Laboratory, and other partners put together a team of skilled scientists to treat the sick sawfish. However, their tireless efforts and around-the-clock care weren’t enough to rehabilitate and release the sawfish. Unfortunately, out of an act of humanity, the NOAA and FWC advised the sawfish to be euthanized on May 2. 

Dr. Michael P. Crosby, President and CEO of Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium said, “Although heartbreaking, this outcome was not surprising. Mote’s several decades of active rescue and rehabilitation efforts have taught us that these efforts aren’t always successful in fully rehabilitating compromised stranded animals. Mote has extensive experience treating sick and injured marine wildlife, and we worked restlessly for 24 hours a day to provide the most advanced treatment available. Sadly, even with our best efforts, the animal was ultimately too compromised to recover.”

The cause of distress remains unknown for the rescued sawfish at Mote Marine Laboratory as well as the other species of fish in the Florida Keys. Mote plans on collecting samples to send to various labs for further analysis and a hopeful answer to why this disturbing fish behavior has been taking place. 

However, some scientists hypothesize it may be a mixture of harmful algal toxins affecting the behavior of fish. Dr. Michael L. Parsons, a biological oceanographer, found a harmful algal bloom called gambierdiscus at four times the level that is normally present in the water where the sick fish have been documented. Alison Robertson, a senior marine scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, is researching whether a combination of benthic algal toxins is working together to cause this fish sickness. But these are all hypotheses at this point, and there is no definitive answer yet. 

The public can help assist by reporting all sawfish observations (healthy, sick, injured, or dead) to 844-472-9347 or sawfish@myfwc.com. They can also report abnormal fish behavior and fish kills to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish Kill Hotline at 800-636-0511 or MyFWC.com/ReportFishKill.