Pristis pristis
A sawfish that enters estuaries and swims up rivers for hundreds of kilometers. Critically Endangered, with catch banned in Brazil and other countries: if you hook one, release it immediately.
Also called: peixe-serra-dentes-grandes, peixe-serra, espadarte (nome registrado na FishBase; em outros contextos é o peixe-espada)
The largetooth sawfish is an elongated, flattened ray with a saw-like rostrum. It lives along the coast, enters estuaries and lagoons and swims up rivers. FishBase cites populations in the Amazon about 750 km from the mouth and in Lake Nicaragua, which may not migrate. Young spend much of early life in rivers, up to 400 km from the sea. They mature at 8 to 10 years, and females have 1 to 13 pups. It eats fish and bottom animals. The names Pristis perotteti (Atlantic) and Pristis microdon (Indo-Pacific) are now treated as synonyms of it, and genetic studies distinguish four populations: Eastern Pacific, Western Atlantic, Eastern Atlantic and Western Indo-Pacific. It is Critically Endangered on the national list (as already in 2022) and by IUCN, and is in CITES Appendix I. Catch is banned throughout Brazil.
Elongated, flattened body with a short, broad rostrum (saw), with 14 to 24 sharp, widely spaced teeth on each side (FishBase says 20 or fewer), aligned, with the rear groove reaching the base. Slightly forked caudal fin, broad pectoral fins, and first dorsal fin starting in front of the pelvics. Grey or golden brown at sea; in fresh water, mouse grey with reddish tones on the fins and flank. The smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) has a long, narrow saw with 20 to 32 uneven teeth, and an unforked caudal fin.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Circumtropical. In the western Atlantic it ranges from Florida and Louisiana (USA) to Brazil; in the eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of California to Ecuador. In Brazil, from the North and Northeast coasts to the Southeast, and rivers of the Amazon basin, where populations swim up about 750 km. The coastlines marked on the map follow FishBase's latitude band and do not indicate that the species is still found there.
Habitat: Shallow coast, estuaries, lagoons and rivers; in fresh water it reaches hundreds of kilometers from the mouth, and young live in rivers.
native to the basins
coast
No known season: recent records are rare and catch is banned year-round. This information only tells you it may turn up by chance in estuaries and rivers.
Any time. There is no time-of-day study in the sources checked.
Warm-water species: when the water drops below about 20 °C it moves away from shallows (estimate).
Little known effect.
Little known effect.
With high water and heavy rain, rivers push fresh water into the estuaries; the species tolerates fresh water and can swim up rivers.
In rivers, high water lets it go farther upstream; in drought it concentrates in channels and pools (estimate).
No study; the effect is estimated as moderate.
Little direct effect.
Uses estuaries and river mouths, where the tide moves prey (estimate).
Usually in shallow water, from a few meters to a few dozen meters.
accessories
If a sawfish is hooked by chance, keep it in the water and out of reach of the saw: the teeth are sharp and the rostrum tangles in nets and line. Cut the line at a safe distance, with long-handled pliers or scissors, and never cut or try to remove the saw from the animal.
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: Catch banned throughout Brazil. Already on the previous list (Portaria MMA 148/2022) as CR. Global assessment: Critically Endangered (IUCN, Feb 2, 2022). CITES Appendix I and CMS Appendices I and II (according to FishBase).
The national list (Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026) classifies the species as CR. Under Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026 (art. 3), VU, EN and CR species have full protection: catch, transport, storage, processing and trade are banned. If you hook one by accident, release it right away, with minimal handling.
Source: Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026, art. 3º, and Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667/2026
NOM-029-PESC-2006 (responsible fishing of sharks and rays) prohibits, in any case, catching and retaining the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), sawfishes (Pristis perotteti, P. pectinata and P. microdon), whale shark, basking shark and giant mantas. A specimen caught by chance must go back into the water; it may not be retained alive, dead, whole or in parts, nor eaten or sold (section 4.2.2). The text is addressed to holders of shark and ray fishing permits and to those who catch them incidentally (section 1.2); sport fishing has its own rule, NOM-017-PESC-1994. When in doubt, release it. The rule lists Pristis microdon, P. pectinata and "P. perotetti (Linnaeus, 1758)"; the first and third names are now synonyms of Pristis pristis, the largetooth sawfish in this entry (our reading, based on FishBase).
In 2021 Colombia stopped treating marine sharks and rays as fishery resources (AUNAP Resolution 0380/2021) and began treating them as hydrobiological resources; the recitals of Decree 281/2021 say they may not be extracted for commercial or sport purposes, and the decree creates an environmental protection plan and sets who enforces it. The articles include no list of species or sizes, and we did not check later AUNAP rules on incidental catch. When in doubt, release it in the water.
Many sharks and rays are on the national list (CR, EN or VU), with catching, keeping and transport prohibited, including those listed here. Species added to the list only in 2026 follow the 180-day deadline (until about Oct 25, 2026). If unsure of the species, release it.
Source: Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666/2026 (art. 3º) and nº 1.667/2026 (Annex I)
This is not catch and release: it is release of an accidental catch, and the right thing is to keep the animal in the water. The saw tangles in net and line and injures anyone nearby. Cut the line at a safe distance, without trying to untangle it by hand, and do not cut the rostrum. Release it quickly, with minimal handling.
Catch and trade banned. FishBase records small commercial use. Don't buy or keep pieces.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00501, b = 3.05; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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The season factors (months), the time of day, and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water, and noise) are editorial estimates by the app, based on the literature cited below and on field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data or measurements made for this species and may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the standard and link. The months indicate when the species is usually found near the coast or at the fishing spot, not a catch season. The water temperature range is also an editorial estimate, supported by FishBase values where they exist.
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