Decades after the endangered smalltooth sawfish disappeared from Texas coastlines, researchers at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi aim to find out how many remain in the U.S.
A century ago, it would not have been unusual to come across smalltooth sawfish near Bob Hall Pier in Corpus Christi. Historically, the species could be found from North Carolina to Texas.
But populations declined dramatically in the 20th century. Exactly how many smalltooth sawfishes there might have been before they began disappearing and exactly how many there are today is hard to estimate. But they aren’t found any more in Corpus Christi.
The last confirmed record in Texas was in Aransas Bay in 1984.
Decades after the species disappeared from much of its historic habitat, the smalltooth sawfish earned federal protection as an endangered species in 2003.
Today, smalltooth sawfish are only regularly found in southwest Florida in the U.S.
To determine what impact federal protection has had on the species, A&M-Corpus Christi researchers aim to find out current and historic population sizes.