Narrow Sawfish

Sawfish are strange-looking tropical fish related to rays. They have their gill openings underneath their head. The Narrow Sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata) grows to about 3.5 metres in length and is mostly marine, but does occur in river estuaries. Sawfish are threatened world-wide by fishing, as they are often incidentally caught and killed by trawlers and gill-netters. Sawfish give birth only to a small number of live young. Due to their low birth-rate, and the threat from fishing, all sawfish are listed as endangered species in Australia.