As the official death toll hit 41 this week, fisheries experts were still trying to determine why so many sawfish in the Florida Keys have been acting erratically, swimming in circles as they spin themselves to death.
“I’ve definitely not seen anything like this in my career,” said Adam Brame, NOAA Fisheries’ sawfish recovery coordinator since 2015. “We get some mortalities reported to us every once in a while, but nothing of this scale and magnitude.”
Officials said they suspect that the number of mortalities will go much higher than what’s already been confirmed.
“It’s the tip of the iceberg because many if not most sawfish that will have died will never be recovered or identified,” said Michael Crosby, president and chief executive officer of the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Florida.
