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Science 27 April 2001:
Vol. 292. no. 5517, p. 617
DOI: 10.1126/science.292.5517.617a
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ScienceScope

The smalltooth sawfish may soon become the first marine fish living in U.S. waters to be listed as an endangered species. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) last week concluded that the sawfish (below), a shark relative, is in "in danger of extinction" due to fish net entanglements and habitat loss. Scientists believe the U.S. population has declined by as much as 99%, with survivors confined to a few areas off Florida.

NMFS has listed just one other totally marine fish, a tropical species that lives off Mexico, as endangered (Science, 25 July 1997, p. 486). Sonja Fordham of the Center for Marine Conservation, which asked for the sawfish's listing, says NMFS's move, due to be finalized later this year, "sends an important warning that marine fish can indeed be threatened by human activities."

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)