Sawfishes in The Gambia and Senegal - shifting baselines over 40years

Historical and current information on sawfish distribution and abundance in African waters is limited, yet such information is essential in order to effect conservation strategies for this group of critically endangered elasmobranchs. During a study of sawfishes in the Gambia River in 1974 and 1975 fishermen were interviewed and sawfishes and rostra were collected in order to assess the species and size classes present and the spatial distribution of sawfishes. Largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) were common in the Gambia River during this period and could be found several hundred kilometres upriver, extending into Senegal. Interviews conducted with fishermen in 2014 at key fish landings sites along the Gambian coast and upriver suggest that sawfish are now rarely encountered, although a small number of fishermen stated that they had caught a sawfish within the last 5years. The use of nets was perceived to be the main cause of sawfish decline. There was little mention of any cultural importance of sawfish, which were considered useful primarily as a source of food. Sawfish declines are resulting in a shifting baseline syndrome, whereby local knowledge of sawfish ecology and cultural importance is being lost in the West Africa region. These data demonstrate for the first time that the Gambia River was historically a key habitat for freshwater sawfish and as such, should be considered in any future conservation actions for sawfishes in the West Africa region.