What the Sawfish Tells Us About the Health of Our Oceans

RanMarine Communications – 17/10/2025

Each year, on 17 October, the world celebrates International Sawfish Day. A day dedicated to one of the ocean’s most remarkable yet critically endangered species: the sawfish.

Closely related to sharks and rays, sawfish are living relics of our planet’s marine past. Despite their resilience, they now face the very real threat of extinction.

Ancient and Endangered

Sawfish are ancient fish whose distinctive saw-like snouts, or rostra, help them sense and catch prey. Sadly, this same feature often leads to their entanglement in fishing nets, one of the main causes of their decline. Populations of sawfish have plummeted by more than 90% worldwide due to a combination of threats:

• Overfishing and bycatch in coastal and estuarine areas
• Habitat loss caused by coastal development and mangrove destruction
• Pollution from plastic waste and chemical run-off
• Illegal trade in sawfish parts and curios

All five known species of sawfish are now listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and protected under CITES Appendix I, which prohibits global trade in sawfish or their parts.

Pollution: A Threat We Can Fight

While overfishing and habitat loss remain major global challenges, pollution is one threat we can actively combat. Every bottle, bag, and fragment of debris that enters a waterway contributes to habitat degradation, affecting sawfish and countless other marine species. At RanMarine Technology, we’re addressing this challenge with innovative, data-driven solutions. Our WasteSharks and MegaSharks are designed to remove floating debris, plastics, and organic waste from waterways before it can reach the ocean.

By collecting waste early, we help restore balance to aquatic ecosystems and support the biodiversity that keeps them healthy. Each WasteShark mission contributes to:

• Preventing plastics from entering aquatic food chains
• Improving water quality in cities, ports, marinas, and rivers
• Creating cleaner, safer habitats for aquatic species

These innovations demonstrate how technology and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand, offering practical, scalable solutions to the global challenge of water pollution.

The story of the sawfish reminds us that every action counts. Protecting one species means protecting an entire ecosystem, and it starts with clean water.

👉 learn more about our WasteShark or MegaShark