Feds will start soon rescuing sawfish

As scientists continue to investigate the cause of hundreds of fish spinning and nearly 30 dead sawfish in the Lower Florida Keys in recent months, federal and state governments will soon start a program to capture and rehabilitate sawfish and then return them to the wild.

In an effort to save sawfish, a federally protected endangered species, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and private research groups like Mote Marine Laboratory, Ripley’s Aquariums and the Marathon-based Dynasty Marine Associates Inc. will embark on a plan to rescue and rehabilitate sick sawfish. This is first time that researchers have attempted to capture sawfish in order to save them.