An extremely rare and critically endangered sawfish was caught in fishing nets in Karnataka’s Malpe on Thursday.
The 10-foot-long carpenter shark, which reportedly weighed about 250kg, was accidentally trapped in the nets of a boat named ‘Sea Captain’ that had left Malpe port to fish in deep waters, Mangalore City twitter read.
An extremely rare & endangered species of carpenter shark (sawfish) was caught in fishnets at Malpe on Thursday. 🦈
The huge carpenter shark weighed around 250 kgs, was accidentally trapped in the nets of a boat named ‘Sea Captain’ that had left Malpe port to fish in deep waters pic.twitter.com/3AimndOv1I
— Mangalore City (@MangaloreCity) March 12, 2022
As per the experts, Carpenter sharks are an endangered species with their population has been on a decline. They are a protected species in India under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
In the video, The carcass of the sawfish fish is being lifted and carried by a crane. Many people gathered in the harbour to watch a glimpse of the species.
Later, the fish was auctioned and was purchased by a trader from Mangaluru.
Sawfishes are arguably the most threatened family of marine fishes in the world. The global populations of all five sawfish species have experienced historic declines greater than 90% due to fisheries overexploitation and habitat loss. There is a very real risk that these unique species will be lost without urgent conservation action.
Ms Kalinga