"Smalltooth sawfish are behaving oddly, eliciting a first-ever plan to rescue and rehabilitate the species from the wild".

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is launching what the agency described as an emergency response effort in south Florida after emerging reports of smalltooth sawfish spinning, whirling and displaying other abnormal behaviors.

In a statement released last Wednesday, NOAA said that in addition to the abnormal behaviors, there have been reports of fish deaths in the lower Florida Keys, including more than 28 smalltooth sawfish as of 24 March.

The cause of the abnormal behaviors and fish deaths is not known, according to the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC). Ongoing emergency response efforts not only involve coordinating the recovery of smalltooth sawfish carcasses for necropsies, which are animal autopsies, they also encompass collecting and analyzing water samples."

Maya Yang reports for the Guardian March 31, 2024. [2]