Threats
Urbanisation & Infrastructure
Overexploitation of Biological Resources
Human Disturbance & Ecosystem Disruption
Pollution
Climate Change
Largetooth sawfish is approaching extinction due to fishing and habitat loss. People consume their fins as “shark” fins, livers for oil, skins for making leather, eggs and bile as traditional medicine, and rostra as curios. With their long, toothed snouts, they are very susceptible to entanglement in fishing nets, including those discarded in the sea. Though no longer targeted, sawfish are still threatened by bycatch, illegal fishing and recreational fishing. Apart from this, their estuarine and freshwater habitats are modified or destroyed by human activities such as agriculture, dredging, mining and alterations in water flow. The sawfish population has become depleted or even extirpated in many regions throughout its range.
