Daniel Nuzum caught a critically endangered smalltooth sawfish 13 feet long on his first-ever fishing trip in South Florida. The catch was shared on TikTok by AJ Rotondella, the owner of Apex Anglers, a catch-and-release land-based shark fishing guide service on Florida's Treasure Coast. This was a rare and special catch for Nuzum.
According to Rotondella, Nuzum and his clients were surprised when the sawfish, instead of a shark, emerged from the waves while fishing. Rotondella said the catch was especially unbelievable because it was the kid's first fish. The clients were reportedly shocked and amazed by the catch.
The footage shows the endangered sawfish, which Rotondella described as resembling a stingray with a chainsaw for a face, poking its long snout with sharp teeth out of the shallow waves. Nuzum can be heard saying in the video that this was his first ever fish and that he had never been fishing.
Ancient Swimming Beast
Many people have commented on the video to congratulate Nuzum on his catch, with one user saying that Nuzum has no idea what he has just accomplished. The video of Nuzum's catch has received over 1.8 million views. Sawfish is a ray with long, flat snouts with sharp teeth. They are related to sharks and stingrays, and there are five species of sawfish worldwide, all of which are endangered.
The smalltooth sawfish is the most common species in the United States. They can grow up to 17 feet long and weigh 700 pounds. This species is considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but the south coast of Florida is home to one of the few remaining populations of smalltooth sawfish.
Rotondella told Newsweek that he has caught another sawfish in the past and described the presence of a modern-day dinosaur as similar to stepping into a portal to the Cretaceous Period. The sawfish was caught using a jack crevalle fish as bait, typically used to catch sharks. Rotondella also explained that the fishing line was cut as close to the fish as possible and that he uses barbless circle hooks while fishing, which allow the hook to fall out quickly.
Left: stills from the TikTok video showing the smalltooth sawfish. Right: Daniel Nuzum after catching his first-ever fish.
Sawfish Facts
After the footage was taken, the sawfish was safely released, and the catch was reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sawfish are interesting marine animals characterized by their flat, saw-like snouts and distinctive transverse teeth. There are only five species of sawfish in the world, found in tropical and subtropical waters, with Florida and Australia as the remaining strongholds for these species.
The five species are the large-tooth sawfish, small-tooth sawfish, green sawfish, dwarf sawfish, and narrow sawfish. The largetooth sawfish lives in rivers as a juvenile and moves to the ocean as it matures, while the smalltooth sawfish is found in the Atlantic Ocean. The green sawfish lives in the Indo-West Pacific and is one of the largest species of sawfish. The dwarf sawfish can grow up to 9.8 feet long and can be found in the Indo-West Pacific and northern Australia, per Discover Wildlife.
The narrow sawfish is the only species without rostral teeth. Sawfish get their name from their long, saw-like snouts lined with rostral teeth that grow continuously like fingernails if broken. These teeth allow sawfish to defend themselves against predators, such as crocodiles and bull sharks.
RELATED ARTICLE: Man Looking for Shark Caught Rare and Mysterious Sawfish but Returned it in Florida Waters
Check out more news and information on Animals in Science Times.
