t’s a somber anniversary in the Florida Keys. This time last year, residents and tourists began witnessing the bizarre behavior of fish spinning disoriented and acting distressed. The phenomenon impacted more than 80 species of fish and rays and stunned onlookers and social media users. But it was the critically endangered smalltooth sawfish that suffered the biggest loss. At least 54 were reported dead by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from Key West, north to the Saint Lucie River, to even as far as Tampa Bay.

In mid November, the Grubbs lab and the Bimini Biological Field Station team spent five days tagging and collecting biological samples from endangered smalltooth sawfish in the Florida Keys. 11 large sawfish were successfully acoustically tagged and blood samples were taken for future analysis.

Bryan Keller graduated from Florida State University in 2020 with a doctorate in biological oceanography through the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. While at FSU, Keller was selected for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship, which matches highly qualified graduate students with hosts in the legislative and executive branches of government in Washington, D.C. and allows fellows to gain experience in fields such as marine resource management. The fellowship led to Keller’s current role as a foreign affairs specialist for NOAA, traveling the world to represent the U.S. and negotiate on issues related to fisheries management on the high seas.

National Geographic spoke to FSUCML's Dr. Dean Grubbs about the investigation into what was causing unusual behavior in smalltooth sawfish and efforts to help this critically endangered species.

Bringing back the sawfish Florida adopted protections in 1992 and the U.S. population of sawfish was the nation’s first native marine fish listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2003. By that time, the fish were only found in pockets of Southwest Florida, said Dean Grubbs, associate director of research and a research professor at Florida State University’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory.

“It’s distressing to see the animals dead and dying,” said Dean Grubbs, the associate director of research at Florida State University’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory. Grubbs is also a member of the sawfish recovery team and was on the boat last week when the crew caught the healthy sawfish.

This grant will fund her project on smalltooth sawfish in Cape Canaveral. The primary objective of this project is to define critical habitat, including potential mating areas, for large juvenile and adult smalltooth sawfish in the USA. This is intended to have immediate use in species conservation actions and decisions.

In a dedicated effort to protect coastal and marine habitats and species, the Guy Harvey Foundation (GHF) has awarded a Florida State University student the inaugural Guy Harvey Fellowship. Annais Muschett-Bonilla, a doctoral student in the College of Arts and Sciences, received a $5,000 research stipend and certificate personally designed and signed by Guy Harvey, world-renowned marine wildlife artist, conservationist and GHF Founder/Chair Emeritus.

Last month, members of the Grubbs lab traveled to the Florida Keys, in collaboration with members of the Bimini Biological Field Station, for routine smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) sampling.

Dr. Sandra Brooke, Dr. Josh Breithaupt, and Dr. Dean Grubbs were among the many scientists who contributed to the "Results and Impacts of the First Decade of the Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program" report. This report covers a variety of fields and projects within Florida in the aftermath of the BP Horizon Oil Spill.