(NewsNation) — A months-long mystery in the Florida Keys has left researchers and residents concerned as they try to figure out why so many critically endangered fish are dying.
From 400 feet everything looks calm, but under the surface, researchers are rushing to figure out why more than 40 smalltooth sawfish have died. The species is critically endangered due to habitat loss and accidental catch by fisheries.
Residents say they can see the impact.
“You can see the stress in its eyes and it was so heartbreaking. I just started crying,” said Shaylee Furstenwerth, who lives on Little Torch Key.
Florida’s Wildlife Commission has gotten nearly 200 reports of sawfish displaying bizarre behavior since January.
Gregg Furstenwerth lives on the Keys and has been documenting the disturbing trend.
“When you see how big the animal is and how distressed the animal is and it just doesn’t stop, it really kind of sends it home that there’s a very serious problem with the sawfish,” Furstenworth said.
Specialized teams executed a rescue mission, removing an 11-foot sawfish from the Keys that was reportedly distressed and swimming in circles.
Trained scientists used a forklift to carefully place the endangered fish into a holding tank before transporting it seven hours away to Sarasota, Florida.
The Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium will use science-based rehabilitation to treat the fish.
“Hopefully we can release a healthy sawfish back into its own environment,” said Dr. Michael P. Crosby, president of the facility.
In the meantime, the sawfish is in an extensive quarantine facility, swimming in a stabilization tank. But researchers hope to get back into the ocean.
Officials say they are religiously running tests and taking samples to solve the deadly mystery.
“I think people are very concerned they won’t solve the mystery,” Gregg Furstenworth said. “The number one thing I’ve heard is that people just hope it’ll go away.”
While sawfish are the focus for the researchers, they aren’t the only fish in the Keys behaving bizarrely. NewsNation’s Xavier Walton reported that while out on the water, the team didn’t see a single fish or animal, describing it like a scene from a sci-fi movie before something really bad is about to happen.
