Scientists working to find, track endangered fish
May 29, 2012 6:24 PM EDT
CAPE CORAL -
It was a rare sighting off Sanibel Island Tuesday when, researchers say, a smalltooth sawfish turned up near the shore in Tarpon Bay. Now, scientists hope to find and track the sawfish.
Researchers shuffled the shallow waters of Tarpon Bay checking nets for an endangered fish.
"We don't have very many opportunities so we want to take advantage of this when we have the opportunity," said Greg Poulakis, with FWC.
Scientists say around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, someone spotted a smalltooth sawfish right along the shoreline at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge at Tarpon Bay.
They say it's probably a newborn, about 2.5-feet long.
Now, Poulakis and his team hope to find and tag the sawfish.
He explained the sawfish is an endangered species and says he wants to know why it turned up nearly 10 miles south of its typical home - the Caloosahatchee River.
"That way we can try to protect those things into the future, for the future of the population as a whole," Poulakis said.
He and his team partnered with Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation to track nearly 70 other sawfish.
"We're trying to combine those two data sets and explain movement of sawfish based on water quality," said Alex Rybak, with the SCCF.
Ding Darling Ranger Toni Westland added the sighting encourages environmentalists.
"It just shows us that our conservation efforts are helping the protecting of Tarpon Bay and all the research and hard work biologists do here is paying off," she said.
NBC News
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