Abstract
Sawfish (Pristidae) are considered to be among the most threatened families of elasmobranch (sharks and rays). There is a need to gather information on the status of poorly known sawfish populations to assist in global recovery initiatives. This study used interviews with local fishers to investigate the presence of sawfish in southern Papua New Guinea (PNG) and their interactions with and uses and values for small-scale fishers. A range of sawfish size classes are still encountered throughout southern PNG, while juvenile largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis were additionally reported in the freshwater reaches of all rivers surveyed. Reports of large size classes in estuarine and marine environments provide an optimistic outlook that sawfish populations persist throughout southern PNG. Most fishers that catch sawfish retain them for various uses including consumption and for the sale of meat, fins and occasionally rostra. Negative population trends including decreases in catch frequency and/or size classes were reported by 66% of interviewees, with the largest declines being reported in the Kikori River. The increasing technical capacity of small-scale fishers, their preference for gillnetting and the emerging market for teleost swim bladder (a high-value fishery product) present a major ongoing threat to sawfish in southern PNG. Furthermore, the tendency of fishers to kill or remove rostra from entangled sawfish results in high fishing mortality regardless of any use by the fisher. This study indicates that considerable community engagement will be necessary to manifest any legislative actions or increased enforcement on international trade regulations for sawfish in PNG. This is due to traditional land and waterway ownership values throughout PNG and the local perception of sawfish as a traditional food resource rather than an animal of intrinsic biodiversity value as perceived by global conservationists. Future research should consider exploring culturally appropriate conservation initiatives that are likely to achieve engagement and participation from local fishers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2883-2900 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| Early online date | Aug 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This manuscript is dedicated to Dick Jaghu Jogo who sadly passed away during the completion of this study. The authors wish to thank the Save Our Seas Foundation for funding this study (Keystone project number 388) and the Piku Biodiversity Network, Gulf Provincial Fisheries and Western Provincial Fisheries for facilitating our research. We additionally would like to thank all of the interviewees, councillors, and chiefs for letting us into their community and sharing information. A special thanks goes to James Cook University staff Melissa Joyce, Megan Harris, Verona Nobel and Ben Marriott for valuable assistance in navigating fieldwork in remote regions of Papua New Guinea. Also special mention is due to Mathew Young and Arthur Georges, and to all the crew members who assisted with extensive fieldwork: Jagara Page, Samson, Baera Nawia, Obiri Bottu, Nagai Thomas, Aikaru Ba′au, Baibai, Max Aimari and Kenneth Korokai. Finally, we thank John Baxter, Adam Brame and another anonymous reviewer for helpful comments that greatly improved this manuscript. M.I.G was supported by an Australian Post‐Graduate Award and P.M.K was supported by the Marine Biodiversity Hub, a collaborative partnership supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program. This study was conducted with human ethics approval (H7240) from James Cook University.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
