Hedge trimmer fish facing global extinction
BBC
They are the most extraordinary of fish, resembling hedge trimmers with fins .
The sawfish, which is a kind of ray, is also among the most endangered of the fish living in the oceans.
Once found along the coastlines of 90 countries, the animals are now presumed extinct in more than half of these, according to a new study.
They are vanishing due to habitat loss and entanglement in fishing nets, experts have said.
Their saws , which evolved to sense and attack prey, have now become a liability, making them prone to being caught up in fishing gear.
Can These Hedge Trimmers With Fins Avoid a Brush With Extinction?
Scientists have found that sawfish are thriving in some habitats while vanishing from others.
A largetooth sawfish released into waters in northern Australia after being rescued from a drying floodplain waterhole.Credit.Peter Kyne
By Lesley Evans Ogden
Feb. 10, 2021
Sawfish look something like hedge trimmers with fins and can reach lengths of 17 feet. To Jasmin Graham, president and chief executive of Minorities in Shark Sciences, it’s sometimes hard to believe such weird fish exist.
“They look so intimidating if you look at them from the top down,” she said. But from the bottom, “they have these cute, adorable little gray mouths that kind of look like they’re smiling.”
Oceanic sharks and rays have declined by over 70%
28 Jan 202128 January 2021
Last updated at 06:58
Getty Images
The number of oceanic sharks and rays worldwide has fallen by 71% since 1970, according to a report by a team of scientists from around the world.
Their study finds that more than three-quarters of these oceanic species are now threatened with extinction and over the past 50 years fishing pressure has doubled and shark and ray catches have tripled.
The team assessed the risk of extinction for all 31 species of ocean shark and rays. Of the 31 oceanic species, 24 are now threatened with extinction and three shark species (the oceanic whitetip shark, and the scalloped and great hammerhead sharks) have declined so sharply that they are now classified as critically endangered.
Global shark and ray populations have plummeted 71% in the past 50 years nearing a point of no return By Sophie Lewis Shark populations decimated around the world
Shark and ray populations around the world have declined a staggering 70% over the past 50 years and scientists say humans are to blame. If nothing changes, overfishing could soon wipe them out completely.
A new study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, measures shark and ray populations from 1970 to 2018, finding a 71.1% decrease. Three-quarters of the species are now threatened with extinction, and scientists say the true collapse is likely even worse than their findings.
Researchers hope the study serves as an urgent wake-up call.