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. The largest was a 434 cm (14.2 ft)  female. The team even recaptured a male sawfish on Friday they originally caught on Monday! Data and samples will contribute to the ongoing research investigating the spinning fish phenomenon that resulted in a high number of sawfish deaths in winter of 2023-2024. Research was funded by the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

If you encounter a sawfish in the wild, please report it to the sawfish encounter hotline at 1-844-4SAWFISH.

All research activities were conducted under ESA permit 22078 and SAL 24-1345.