Big Sawfish caught in Bay of Bengal

Helmut Nickel, Shark Year Magazine,
28. November 2011

Date: reported on 25. November 2011.

Location: Bangladesh.

Species: Sawfish ( Pristidae Family ).

The impressive catch was made by fishermen from Kuakata in the Patuakhali district.

According to the source, the sawfish was chopped into pieces and put up to dry.

The source also says that the ‘large fish’ is ‘apparently not a common species in this part of the world’.

All seven species of the Sawfish Family Pristidae are classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ by the IUCN Red List. Additionally, six species have been listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in which Bangladesh is a member country since 1982 . Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and are threatened with extinction. The  trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.

The remaining species (Largetooth Sawfish, Pristis microdon) is listed on Appendix II for the exclusive purpose of allowing international trade in live animals to appropriate and acceptable aquaria for primarily conservation purposes.

Source: The Daily Star. Photo Credit: Sohrab Hossain.

 

17 Comments

  1. Manmatha Nath Sarker

    Waoo…such a gigantic saw shark! It was believed that it has already extinct from the waters of Bangladesh. Thanks for the information and photo. Is there any other photo. Whether the saw was kept in any museum. I am interested to learn more.

    • M. Anwar Hossain

      Dear Manmatha Nath Sarker,

      Sawfish is not an extinct species in Bangladesh, but critically endangered. I am doing my Master thesis on sawfish in Bangladesh. You can ask me if you want to learn more on sawfish from Bangladesh.

      Cheers,
      Anwar

      • Priyankar Chakraborty

        Dear Anwar,
          I am glad to have known some one like you. I’m a psychology student from Calcutta but i have a life long interest in elasmobranch and have been doing some research on these miracles of  evolution. Would like to talk to you/meet you. If you ever come to Calcutta,let me know immediately and we can meet up and discuss things. Hope to hear from you soon.
                                            With regards,
                                          Priyankar Chakraborty.

        • M. Anwar Hossain

          Dear Priyankar Chakraborty,

          It is very nice to be introduced with you. It would be good to have a conversation with you. I will certainly meet if I am in Calcutta. By this time we could talk through social web. Search me in Facebook by “anwar79du@yahoo.com”; also we could talk through Skype, my ID is “anwar.akash”. Please send me request. Hope to have a good time.

          Best regards,
          Anwar

      • Manmatha Nath Sarker

        Dear Mr. Anwar, Thank you very much for your interest in Sawfish. I have identified Pristis microdon: Pristis cuspidatus and Pristis zisron during my  thesis work in 1978-1980. One of the species was cought in freshwater river. But no more todays. Could you please  tell me how many species you identified and what is the title of your thesis. Best of luck.

      • Manmatha Nath Sarker

        Dear Mr. Anwar, Thank you very much for your interest in Sawfish. I have identified Pristis microdon: Pristis cuspidatus and Pristis zisron during my  thesis work in 1978-1980. One of the species was caught in freshwater river. But no more todays. Could you please  tell me how many species you identified and what is the title of your thesis. Best of luck.

        • M. Anwar Hossain

          Dear Manmatha Nath Sarker,

          Thank you for the information. I could only identify two species. Can you please send me your thesis paper at ‘anwar79du@gmail.com’?

          Regards,
          Anwar

      • Anirban Ray

        Is sawfish the very species known as ‘kamot’ of sunderbans?

  2. AlB

    Dear Anwar

    Could you put together some information and share it with the rest of the shark world? We would gladly post it on SYM.

    Admin

  3. Jeff Whitty

    To all those interested in sawfish, feel free to come check out the Sawfish Conservation Society facebook group. We are composed of sawfish researchers (I myself recently finished a masters that focused on habitat use of Pristis microdon in Australia), fishers, aquarist and sawfish fans from around the world. Our webpage will also be up and running shortly. Also, Anwar we would love to hear about your research in Bangladesh as there is so little known about sawfish in your area.

  4. Manmatha Nath Sarker

    Thanks for Mr Anwar. I am interested to learn more on Sawfish. Would you please give me your email id, so that I could communicate. Congratulations for Jeff Whitty for concentrating your your in Pristis spp. I would be highly gratefull to you all if you inform me the latest informations
    MNSarker
    National Consultant, Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Capacity Building Project, DoF, Bd.

    • Md. Anwar Hossain

      Dear Jeff,

      Very glad to hear you. I have just requested to join in sawfish Conservation Society facebook group. Also I am highly interested to learn from your research findings. Would you please give me your e-mail ID so that we communicate?

      My best wishes,
      Anwar

    • Md. Anwar Hossain

      Dear Manmatha Nath Sarker,

      You are much welcome. My email ID is .

      Best regards,
      Anwar

    • Jeff Whitty

      Hi Manmatha Nath Sarker and Anwar,

      You can find the latest information regarding sawfish on the SCS facebook group and soon on our website. On our facebook group page there is a “files” tab near the top, which if you select you can find a file with a nearly all sawfish references that have been published (If you find one that is not on the list please let us know). Our group updates this list each time a new publication comes out. So this list is another great way to keep updated. If you have specific questions or are looking for particular papers you can contact myself at sawfishconservationsociety@gmail.com.

    • Md. Anwar Hossain

      Dear Manmatha Nath Sarker,

      Here is my email address ‘anwar79du@yahoo.com’. I have posted before but due to server failure (may be) it didn’t show.

      Regards,
      Anwar

  5. Debajyoti Nandy

    Hello, Is this what we term in Bengali as ‘Kamot’ ? I heard this word ‘Kamot’ in the novels of many Bengali writers. They generally used as ‘Kumir and Kamot’. 

  6. Kamot is the Bengali meaning of a Shark

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