Pristis pectinata
Long, narrow-snouted sawfish with uneven teeth. Critically Endangered in Brazil and worldwide, with catch banned and few recent records: if you hook one, release it right away.
Also called: peixe-serra-dentes-pequenos, peixe-serra
The smalltooth sawfish is not a shark: it is a ray (order Rhinopristiformes) with an elongated, flattened body and a saw-like rostrum, which in sawfishes measures 20% to 28% of total length. It lives in shallow coastal waters, in bays, lagoons, estuaries and river mouths, and it also swims up rivers and lakes. It uses the saw to stir the bottom for invertebrates and to injure fish. It is ovoviviparous: gestation lasts about a year, and females carry up to 20 pups, born at about 61 cm. It reaches 7.6 m. Once widespread along the coast, it is now extremely rare. In 2022 the national list had it as Critically Endangered with the PEX mark (possibly extinct), and in 2026 it is listed as Critically Endangered; IUCN also classifies it as CR. It is in CITES Appendix I. Catch is banned throughout Brazil, and according to an ICMBio bulletin, the last verified records are from the 1970s (Pará) and 1980s (Ceará).
Elongated, flattened body with a long, narrow rostrum (saw), with 20 to 32 teeth on each side, unevenly spaced and shorter near the base (FishBase says 23 or more). The caudal fin is not forked, with a nearly plain lower lobe, and the pectoral fins are longer than wide; the first dorsal fin starts roughly above the pelvics. Greyish-brown back and pale belly. The largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) has a short, broad saw with 14 to 24 widely spaced teeth, and a slightly forked 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.
Tropical and subtropical Atlantic and southwestern Indian Ocean; once much wider, now greatly reduced. In Brazil there are old records along several stretches of the coast and few recent records; the southern limit of the species in the southwestern Atlantic (Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina) was the subject of a 2019 study. The marked coastlines indicate historical records, not current presence.
Habitat: Shallow waters of bays, lagoons, estuaries and river mouths, from 10 to 88 m; it also goes up fresh-water rivers and lakes.
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 bays.
Any time. There is no time-of-day study in the sources checked; recent records are so rare that they do not allow a conclusion.
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. In 2022 it was listed as CR with the PEX mark (in ICMBio's methodology, "possibly extinct"); in 2026 it is listed as CR. Global assessment: Critically Endangered (IUCN, Mar 9, 2022). CITES Appendix I (international trade prohibited) 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.
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 use as food, oil in medicines, soap and tanning, and stuffed adults as decoration. Don't buy or keep pieces.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00407, b = 3.02; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). 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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