Sawfishes are symbol of strength and courage and have a particular cultural importance within western Africa: they appear on coins and banknotes and have a major place in the cosmogony of certain ethnic groups.
Sawfishes are the principal symbol of judicial impartiality among several coastal Congo peoples. Sawfish feature prominently in proverbs of Cameroon’s Duala people.
According to Dulvy Lab, the scientists who work in the marine biodiversity and conservation, sawfishes were once common in West Africa (from Mauritania to Angola) and were reportedly caught in great numbers as recently as the 1930s.
However it has become most endangered marine fishes.
Last observations: Gambia was in 1995, Guinea in 1999, Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003, Guinea Bissau in 2011, and Liberia in 2012
A single sawfish was captured in Mauritania in 2010, the first one seen there in 35 years.
Guinea-Bissau is the only place in West Africa where the presence of sawfish can be confirmed today, thanks to remote and protected mangroves of the Bijagos Archipelagos.
In West Africa, Sawfishes have been caught by gillnets, longlines and trawl nets. Increasing fishing activities and the development of use of nylon monofilament nets, trawling since the 1970s have depleted populations. Sawfish fins are amongst the most preferred for shark fin soup in Asia; one set can sell for close to USD$4000.
“Dégémayéré, pis espada, O kank! ”There are no sawfish”; West African fishermen lament over the demise of these species.
Orginal artical:
http://www.dulvy.com/west-africa-fast-facts.html
