Sawfish rescued in Florida as biologists try to determine why the ancient fish are dying

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A large sawfish that showed signs of distress was rescued by wildlife officials in the Florida Keys, where more than three dozen of the ancient and endangered fish have died for unexplained reasons in recent months.

The 11-foot (3.3-meter) smalltooth sawfish was seen swimming in circles near Cudjoe Key and reported by a member of the public to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, officials said Friday. It was loaded onto a specially designed transport trailer and taken to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, where it is being rehabilitated.

The unprecedented rescue of an animal like this is part of an “emergency response” led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Florida wildlife officials to address an unprecedented die-off of sawfish, a species related to sharks and rays that has lived virtually unchanged for millions of years.

“It's important to note that active rescue and rehabilitation are not always effective in saving stranded animals,” said Adam Brame, sawfish recovery coordinator for NOAA. “However, it can still give us critical information to learn about the nature of the distress.”

Sawfish, named for their long snout with rows of teeth on each side, were once found all along the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coasts in the U.S., but now are mainly confined to southwestern Florida and the Keys island chain as their habitats shrink. A related species is found off Australia.

In Florida, there...