Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Skeptical David is skeptical of new efforts to de-extinct the smalltooth sawfish

Posted on January 11, 2016January 11, 2016 By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

On January 1, 2016, the Southern Fried Science central server began uploading blog posts apparently circa 2041. Due to a related corruption of the contemporary database, we are, at this time, unable to remove these Field Notes from the Future or prevent the uploading of additional posts. Please enjoy this glimpse into the ocean future while we attempt to rectify the situation.


Over Christmas, I finally got to tour the Ram Myers Center for Ocean Biodiversity Restoration captive breeding facility. The millions of gallons of saltwater tanks and the state of the art husbandry and genetics labs look like something out of Jurassic Park. The building itself is almost as impressive as the list of heavy-hitters who work for or consult with the Center, and they’ve had undeniable success with temperature-resistant reef-building corals and pH resistant shellfish and phytoplankton that can survive in our increasingly warm and acidified seas.

I was there to investigate their recently-announced efforts to de-extinct smalltooth sawfish by releasing captive-bred animals into the Everglades and the Bahamas. Once found as north as New York and as west as Texas, habitat destruction and bycatch caused these amazing animals’ range to shrink to one small part of South Florida by the late 1990’s. In the early 2000’s they became the first elasmobranch to be listed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and in 2027, they were sadly declared extinct in the wild. In the interest of transparency, I should say that I started my tour skeptical of the Center’s plans to de-extinct smalltooth sawfish, and my opinion remains the same after further investigation.

The author, playing with sawfish, circa 2014ish
The author, playing with sawfish, circa 2013

There’s no doubt that the technology exists to create a relatively large population of smalltooth sawfish through captive breeding, certain numbers large enough to let the wild population re-establish itself. Though extinct in the wild, these animals do well in captivity and are found in aquariums all over the world, and they’ve been have been successfully bred in captivity since 2012  In fact, back in 2013 I got to see the first captive-bred smalltooth sawfish. Additionally, recent advances in cloning allow scientists and aquarists to further augment captive populations, made easier by the species’ inherent ability to reproduce through parthenogenesis . If the technology exists for certain other bloggers who shall remain nameless to clone animals that have been extinct for millions of years as a prank, then the technology certainly exists to augment captive populations of a species extinct in the wild but still found in aquariums and research facilities.

No, the problem isn’t the technology required to raise animals in captivity, the problem is what happens next. Recreating populations may be possible, but you can’t release animals into an environment that no longer supports their survival.  Smalltooth sawfish have very specific habitat requirements, and destruction of those habitats throughout their range directly lead to their extinction. Those problems haven’t been fixed since 2027; if anything, they’ve gotten worse. Sea level rise and warming seas have all but destroyed the few mangrove habitats left after a century of destructive coastal development. Simply put, we can breed and clone hundreds of smalltooth sawfish in captivity, but if we release them into their old habitat as it currently is, they’d go extinct all over again.

If we want to release sawfish (or any of the countless other animals that have been proposed for de-extinction) back into the wild, we first need to fix the conditions that led to their extinction. Restoring coastal habitats like mangroves won’t just make those areas more suitable for re-releasing sawfish. It will also result in restoring all the ecosystem services that mangroves used to provide, things like shoreline stabilization, filtration of runoff waters, and nursery habitat for countless species of fish and invertebrates. If we fix the conditions that caused sawfish to go extinct, maybe we can prevent a need for de-extinction technology for other species in the future.


On January 1, 2016, the Southern Fried Science central server began uploading blog posts apparently circa 2041. Due to a related corruption of the contemporary database, we are, at this time, unable to remove these Field Notes from the Future or prevent the uploading of additional posts. Please enjoy this glimpse into the ocean future while we attempt to rectify the situation.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: de-extinction sawfish

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: A Gathering of Gremlins: Updates from a cranky Southern Fried Server
Next Post: The last ABI3730xl goes offline ❯

You may also like

Conservation
Critically Endangered sawfish are spinning in circles until they die. What the heck is going on?
May 29, 2024
Conservation
Tweets from the American Elasmobranch Society: Elasmobranch Conservation
August 19, 2012
Uncategorized
A Mega Apology for Megalodon
January 2, 2016
Uncategorized
Thursday Afternoon Dredging: December 29th, 2016
December 29, 2016

Recent Popular Posts

What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryWhat Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryJuly 2, 2025David Shiffman
Why would a serious scientist agree to participate in a nonsense Shark Week show?Why would a serious scientist agree to participate in a nonsense Shark Week show?July 15, 2025David Shiffman
Marine Biology Career AdviceMarine Biology Career AdviceMay 30, 2025David Shiffman
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
Critically Endangered sawfish are spinning in circles until they die. What the heck is going on?Critically Endangered sawfish are spinning in circles until they die. What the heck is going on?May 29, 2024David Shiffman
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
Considering writing a popular science book? Here's my adviceConsidering writing a popular science book? Here's my adviceJuly 7, 2025David Shiffman
A quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyA quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyFebruary 7, 2024Andrew Thaler
Here's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationHere's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationApril 10, 2024David Shiffman
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown