First things first. No, sawfish are not cetaceans. Whales and dolphins are cetaceans; sawfish are sharks. But since my interest in Guinea-Bissau’s dolphins led me to the sawfish project, I have developed a fascination with this mysterious species, which seems poised for extinction. I am still horrified that such a distinct species, almost like something from an undersea fairy tale, could disappear from under our eyes in the modern age. And simultaneously, I hope and want to believe that we can still find them, that I might yet see a live sawfish. Go here to read part one of this story.

Now, to the study results, which may knock these hopes of mine solidly to the ground. Not once did we hear about or see a very recently-caught sawfish. It seems that these fish, once common and frequently caught in Bissau-Guinean waters, are now a rarity. Almost all the fishers on the Bijagos indicated that they had not seen or caught sawfish for several decades. In other areas, however, a handful of fishermen did seem to indicate that catches had been more recent if sparse – several individuals stated that they knew of catches in the last 2 years. This contrasts with the landings data, which suggested that the last known catch of a sawfish was in 2005.

Considering the importance of these fish to the cultures of many Bijagos islanders, I was surprised and disappointed that they showed little dismay at the decline of such an emblematic species. Having used the image of sawfish in dances and costume for sacred ceremonies such as male circumcision and having prized the meat of the sawfish so highly, I imagined that its disappearance would have left more of an impact, but when I asked what they used for these ceremonies, now that they could no longer find sawfish, they were happy to report that a cow has the same value. Somehow I’m not sure that cows will fill the role in Guinea-Bissau’s marine ecosystem, though. Nor do they capture my imagination as the sawfish, with its mysterious, quite unbelievable form, does.

Elsewhere in Guinea-Bissau, sawfish are less important culturally but still held in high regard for their meat. We also asked whether anyone had a ‘saw’ (rostrum), as these were commonly kept as decorations in fishermen’s houses, and in some parts of the Bijagos, the saws were used on ceremonial masks and headdresses. Yet, it seems that the few tourists and travellers to have made it as far as the Bijagos Islands have cleaned out the villages of their remaining sawfish saws – I only saw one, in Cacine, during the month I spent in the field, as well as several on display in the Bijagos cultural museum in Bubaque, and in Bissau.

When asked about the possible reasons for the decline of sawfish in their region, fishermen made several suggestions. Many of them acknowledged that overfishing may have played a large role and the influx of overseas fishermen to Bissau-Guinean waters was also frequently mentioned. Interestingly, older fishermen noted that sawfish used to be caught only with spears from the beach and that nets were not used there until recently. The sawfish’s saw can easily become entangled in a net and may have significantly increased the number of these fish being captured. Finally, many fishermen noted that the practice of finning, where a shark’s fins are cut off, and the rest of the body is discarded back into the water, is now common in Guinea-Bissau and may well have contributed to the sawfish’s decline. The practice of finning gained worldwide press attention in late December, as thousands of shark fins were found drying on the roof of a building in Hong Kong (read more here), but has been ongoing for years and seriously threatens to drive numerous sharks species to extinction in the next few years.

The next steps in this study will involve following up with the few fishermen who knew of areas where sawfish might still be found. This information might be unreliable, but it is the only information we have at present for such a rare fish. The key is to locate at least one area where sawfish are still found and assess whether the species’ recovery might be possible.

Any information on sawfish from Africa, past or present, is valuable to research. Have you seen a live or dead sawfish, or the saw of a sawfish, anywhere in Africa? Or do you have photographs of old sawfish catches? If so, please contact Ruth Leeney and help conserve these amazing fish! 

– ‘Where are you off to in your search for sawfish?’

– ‘Guinea-Bissau’

Queue quizzical look, which led me to explain that Guinea-Bissau (hereafter GB) was a small country to the south of Senegal, on the coast of West Africa. Quizzical look replaced by a blank nod.Very few people have heard of GB, or know anything about it, yet this little country has experienced much more than its share of warring and disruption since before its independence from Portuguese colonists, and a sense of unrest still prevails. It is this lack of stability which leaves the country poor, with little investment or development.

I was due to travel to GB in May this year to do a short contract for the French NGO, Noé Conservation, and then to do some of my own research on cetaceans. A sudden coup in early April, a fine example of the instability still plaguing this small nation, led me to delay my plans until things had calmed down. And so it was that in October, I set off for GB, determined to find out more about the supposedly near-extinct sawfish (fish of the scientific family Pristidae) and to establish whether, indeed, GB was as important a habitat for rare Atlantic humpback dolphins (Sousa teuszii) as had been suggested.

Plans changed considerably once I was in GB, and I spent the entire duration of my 5-week stay there collecting information on sawfish from fishermen and training local staff to carry out more interview surveys. We worked in 3 areas: the Parc National d’Orango (Bijagos Archipelago), Cacheu (northern mainland GB) and Cacine (in the south). The Bijagos is highlighted in guidebooks and websites as a cluster of pristine, isolated islands surrounded by turquoise waters full of fish, rays, turtles and other marine life; a haven for fishermen, snorkelers and those seeking a quiet respite from the noise and bustle of the mainland. Despite the islands’ beauty, it didn’t quite fit the Western ideal of a tropical escape. Food was limited to fish and rice, with few tropical fruits available. It’s hot – the kind of heavy, oppressive heat that makes even a 1 km walk to the beach seem like an enormous undertaking. We came across several miniature floating islands of trash on our way around the park by boat – one memorable one comprised an abandoned fishing net which had captured myriad plastic bottles, bags and other detritus until it became a choked mass that was near impossible to lift from the water. Local people were friendly and welcoming, on the whole, but not familiar with the link between individual actions and the health of the seas on which they so depend. Nowhere was this clearer than on the ferry on the way from the mainland to Bubaque, the most developed of the Bijagos Islands. We were packed so densely, amongst chickens and suitcases and portable stoves and plastic tubs and sacks of rice, that many of us stood for the entire 6-hour journey, and upon finishing their cans of sugary drinks, boxes of wine, packets of biscuits and bags of peanuts, no one seemed to give a second thought to casting the packaging into the wake of the heaving vessel. Soon to be cast upon some beach, I thought, inside the stomach of a tired old turtle. But object and be seen as the interfering foreigner in a place few white people visit. There are better ways to change people’s actions, but a much-bitten tongue is required in the interim.

It’s easy to criticize, but these islands are even more resource-limited than the Bissau-Guinean mainland. The lack of access to the islands – one ferry now runs once a week between Bissau and Bubaque – means that they have, until recently, retained their unique heritage and have been far less influenced by Western culture than the rest of West Africa. But their continued inaccessibility means that whilst modern products reach the islands, education (at least in terms of environmental awareness) has not. This, combined with increased fishing pressure from local and overseas fishermen, is likely to place new stresses on an important refuge for marine life.

But back to the study. The sawfish is an emblematic species for West Africa, demonstrated by the fact that it appears on the coins and notes of the Central West Africa currency, the Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFA). In GB, especially in the Bijagos islands, it is of particular cultural importance, with a sawfish’s saw (rostrum) featuring on many headdresses and ceremonial masks. Elsewhere in the West Africa region, the sawfish’s saw, when placed on the roof of a house, provides protection from evil spirits or signifies the strength and courage of the owner. The capture of a sawfish was required, in many Bijagos islands, for a young man to partake in some rituals such as circumcision and ‘grandesa’ (climbing the social ranks) ceremonies.

In the next post, I’ll provide an overview of the findings of this study and the next steps for the sawfish programme in GB. Thanks for reading!