A rare sawfish was netted by fishermen in Karnataka's Malpe on Thursday. A sawfish or a carpenter shark is a critically endangered species, protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. According to The New Indian Express, the 10-foot sawfish was brought to the coast by deep sea fishermen with the help of a crane. Footage of the huge fish being carried in the crane was widely shared on social media over the weekend.
The footage also shows people crowding at the harbour to catch a glimpse of the carpenter shark.
The sawfish, which weighed about 250 kilograms, was caught by fishermen in the deep sea fishing boat 'Sea Captain'. It was reportedly sold to a Mangaluru trader after being brought to the Malpe fisheries harbour. However, auctioning off an endangered and protected species may land the fishermen in trouble. It could attract the same punishment as the killing of a tiger.
The joint director of fisheries department, Ganesh K, confirmed that a probe has been initiated into the incident, the Times of India reported.
A Twitter account called Mangalore City shared more visuals of the sawfish. "Carpenter sharks are an endangered species with their population has been on a decline," they wrote, quoting experts.
"This species has been sighted off the Indian coast less than 10 times in the last decade," said Dr Shivakumar B H, Assistant Professor in the Department of Marine Biology KU-PGC, Karwar, while talking about the rare catch.
Sawfish are a family of rays characterised by their long and narrow nose extension. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, sawfish are among the most-threatened marine fishes around the world. All five sawfish species are listed as endangered, with three of them critically endangered.
