A Future for a Forgotten Predator: An Assessment of International Legal Frameworks for Protection and Recovery of the Caribbean Sawfishes

Koubrak, Olga

doi:10.1080/13880292.2018.1481597

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Blanco & Niño (2022) accounted for 85 species of elasmobranchs, 36 rays, and 49 sharks in the Mexican Caribbean. However, baseline information is scant for chondrichthyans, including sawfishes, and the expansion of such data could prove a vital progression towards their conservation and future management (Koubrak, 2018; Poulakis & Grubbs, 2019; López et al, 2021; Becerril et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anthropogenic threats affect sawfishes globally because their life cycle is associated with coastal habitats, which have faced extensive human exploitation in recent human history (Simpfendorfer, 2001; Lotze et al, 2006; Carlson, Wiley & Smith, 2013; Dulvy et al, 2014a; Bonfil et al, 2018; Koubrak, 2018). As a result, existent sawfish populations are small, isolated, and fragmented (French & Naylor, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interdisciplinary science and fishers’ local ecological knowledge of sawfishes in the Yucatán Peninsula

Rubio‐Cisneros,

Martínez‐Candelas,

Ordaz‐García

et al. 2023

Aquatic Conservation

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Our knowledge of sawfishes remains scant for Latin America. Pristis pristis (largetooth sawfish) and Pristis pectinata (smalltooth sawfish) are critically endangered. In the Yucatán Peninsula (YP), P. pristis and P. pectinata inhabit coastal landscapes. A total of 290 surveys of fishers’ local ecological knowledge (LEK), including a geospatial component, were collected; 74 literature sources and available archaeological data for the region were reviewed. Interdisciplinary results show the following: the common past presence of sawfishes, their cultural significance for coastal societies, and the contemporary absence of sawfishes in coastal areas where they existed historically; sightings of juveniles were only documented by elder fishers, and only two recent narratives mention sawfishes caught incidentally 5 years ago. Geospatial results provide evidence for 52 geographic sites where sawfishes were common in the YP. Results support the development of research methodologies to study human–nature interactions integrating LEK. This matters in the YP, where sociocultural values and landscapes have changed rapidly through increasing tourism development and human overcrowding. The results can help conservation managers understand the past presence and contemporary loss of sawfishes, and their habitat, and contribute to understanding the defaunation of megafauna in the YP through time. This is critical for tourism and fishery ecosystem services on which communities of the YP rely for their economies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interdisciplinary science and fishers’ local ecological knowledge of sawfishes in the Yucatán Peninsula

Rubio‐Cisneros,

Martínez‐Candelas,

Ordaz‐García

et al. 2023

Aquatic Conservation

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show abstract

“…As of June 2019, the governments of Colombia and Panama agreed to impose strict national protections for all the sawfish species and cooperate regionally to recover populations through their classification as critically endangered under Annex II of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol. Colombia and Panama are two of the seven Caribbean countries categorised as the most urgent for the conservation of sawfishes , Koubrak 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying priority areas for research and conservation of the largetooth sawfishPristis pristisin Colombia and Panama

Angarita¹,

Cubillos-M

Villate-Moreno

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Sawfishes are considered one of the most endangered families of fishes in the world. Their diadromous ecology and vulnerability to fishing nets have brought most populations to the brink of collapse. Conservation of the surviving populations is hindered by the paucity of historic and contemporary catch and observational records, and assessments of suitable coastal and riverine habitats. Colombia and Panama are two of 14 countries considered as a high priority for the development of species-specific national legal protection of the critically endangered largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis). To construct a baseline for the temporal and spatial distribution of the largetooth sawfish in Colombia and Panama, we collected historical records from museum databases and from literature over the past century, analysed available small-scale fisheries landings databases, and conducted interviews with fish workers in 38 locations across both countries. We found 257 records of sawfish occurrences across both countries between 1896 and 2015, with 69% of the records before the year 2000. The declining trend in the frequency of observations was corroborated by fishers, who reported fewer sawfish catches over the last 20 years. Using kernel density estimation of recent encounter locations, we identify potential hotspots that may represent extant populations of sawfish. These locations are broadly characterized by their remoteness and high mangrove forest cover. Given the length and cultural diversity of the Pacific coastlines of Colombia and Panama, and the inaccessibility of many of the communities, our findings provide important guidance to target rapid conservation and fisheries interventions to priority areas. We suggest that the relative success of community-managed fishing areas in the region makes this a valuable platform on which to build local stewardship of marine resources, while raising awareness of the need to safeguard critically endangered largetooth sawfish.

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A Future for a Forgotten Predator: An Assessment of International Legal Frameworks for Protection and Recovery of the Caribbean Sawfishes

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Interdisciplinary science and fishers’ local ecological knowledge of sawfishes in the Yucatán Peninsula

Interdisciplinary science and fishers’ local ecological knowledge of sawfishes in the Yucatán Peninsula

Identifying priority areas for research and conservation of the largetooth sawfishPristis pristisin Colombia and Panama

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