Increase In Fishing Effort Research Articles

Impact of COVID-19 on River and Fisheries: A Comprehensive Guide

Impact of COVID-19 on Rivers and Fisheries: A Comprehensive Guide is a review article that discusses the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aquaculture sector (including financial assistance, input sub/sides, social protection, support for access to new markets, and other measures) aquatic environments, including rivers and fisheries. The authors highlight a significant reduction in tourism, which has led to a decline in the Indian economy. They also discussed the impact of the pandemic on the aquaculture industry, which has been severely affected by the reduction in demand. This review article further discusses the changes in water quality parameters, including increased plastic waste, improved water quality index due to reduced human activities and reduced availability of nutrients due to decreased agricultural activities. The authors also discussed the impact of the pandemic on fish biodiversity, including population restoration due to reduced industrial pollution and changes in the reproductive state of fish. The article concludes by discussing the impact of the pandemic on the exploitation of fish and the aquaculture and fishing industries, including increased fishing effort and harvest with prolonged lockdowns and decreased fish production.

The vulnerability of sharks, skates, and rays to ocean deoxygenation: Physiological mechanisms, behavioral responses, and ecological impacts.

Levels of dissolved oxygen in open ocean and coastal waters are decreasing (ocean deoxygenation), with poorly understood effects on marine megafauna. All of the more than 1000 species of elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, and rays) are obligate water breathers, with a variety of life-history strategies and oxygen requirements. This review demonstrates that although many elasmobranchs typically avoid hypoxic water, they also appear capable of withstanding mild to moderate hypoxia with changes in activity, ventilatory responses, alterations to circulatory and hematological parameters, and morphological alterations to gill structures. However, such strategies may be insufficient to withstand severe, progressive, or prolonged hypoxia or anoxia where anaerobic metabolic pathways may be used for limited periods. As water temperatures increase with climate warming, ectothermic elasmobranchs will exhibit elevated metabolic rates and are likely to be less able to tolerate the effects of even mild hypoxia associated with deoxygenation. As a result, sustained hypoxic conditions in warmer coastal or surface-pelagic waters are likely to lead to shifts in elasmobranch distributions. Mass mortalities of elasmobranchs linked directly to deoxygenation have only rarely been observed but are likely underreported. One key concern is how reductions in habitat volume as a result of expanding hypoxia resulting from deoxygenation will influence interactions between elasmobranchs and industrial fisheries. Catch per unit of effort of threatened pelagic sharks by longline fisheries, for instance, has been shown to be higher above oxygen minimum zones compared to adjacent, normoxic regions, and attributed to vertical habitat compression of sharks overlapping with increased fishing effort. How a compound stressor such as marine heatwaves alters vulnerability to deoxygenation remains an open question. With over a third of elasmobranch species listed as endangered, a priority for conservation and management now lies in understanding and mitigating ocean deoxygenation effects in addition to population declines already occurring from overfishing.

Recent Findings on Spawning Patterns and Recommendations for the Fishery Management of the Southern Red Snapper—Lutjanus purpureus (Poey, 1866)—On the Amazon Continental Shelf of Brazil

The southern red snapper, Lutjanus purpureus, is one of the primary fishery resources of the Amazon continental shelf. Due to the demand for specimens of less than 900 g in weight, increased fishing effort focusing on this size class has led to a drastic decrease in catches. The present study was based on the analysis of cellular structures in the female gonads (formation of oocytes and other reproductive tissues) to identify reproductive processes and evaluate the effectiveness of current fishery management practices. The presence of postovulatory follicles (POFs) peaked in April, which was interpreted as a period of intense spawning. In addition to POFs, hydrated oocytes peaked in July, indicating either reproductive continuity or a second peak, based on the presence of atretic oocytes and atresia. Given that the local snapper fishery preferentially targets very young individuals, an extension of the closed season from March to July would be recommendable to guarantee the reproductive potential of the spawning stock.

Weight-length and total length-standard length factor relationships, and condition factor of the main fish species in Lake Maabo, Chad (Central Africa)

The fish communities of Lake Maabo are little studied despite the increasing fishing effort on this ecosystem. The present study aims to establish weight-length (Pt = a Lt b) and total length-standard length (LT = p + q LS) relationships, and to determine the condition factor of the main species of Lake Maabo. To this end, morphometric data were collected monthly between January 2016 and December 2019 from artisanal fisheries. A total of 4,891 specimens belonging to 25 commercial fish species were caught using various fishing gears andtechniques. The regression coefficient b ranged from 1.17 (Hydrocynus forskali) to 4.69 in (Ctenopoma kingsleyae). Two species showed positive allometric growth, 2 with isometric growth and 21 species with negative allometric growth. The total length-standard length relationship was positive and significant for all species (r2 between 0.666 and 0.999). Only Tetraodon lineatus had a condition factor within the range recommended for mature tropical freshwater fish. The condition factor ranged from 0.536±0.182 to 3.810±0.850, with an overall mean of 1.804±0.833. These results showed that fish in Lake Maabo are under increasing anthropogenic pressure. They show the need to study the population dynamics of the most exploited species in that Lake.

Sensitivity Analysis of Marine Reserves and Its Implications as Fishery Management Tool

Sensitivity analysis of marine reserves and its implications as a fishery management tool was examined. A fishing free zone was established analytically which led to stability of the fishing free zone by employing linearization, first order differential equation and Jacobian matrix and unstable fishing free zone was obtained. We then apply some protection in the fishing zone and obtain a stable environment with the same techniques. Finally, the use of MATLAB helps us to discover that fishing effort has significant influence on fish biomass. The result reveals that as fishing effort increases, both the fraction of fish stock in the fishing zone and fraction in the reserves zone approaches their respectful extinction limits. It was equally examined that when the biomass in the open zone is heavily fished then there is a significant disparity in stock density between the two zones. An increased flow of transfer from the reserved zone to the fishing zone result in the catch reaching its maximum level as the transfer reaches its peak. Finally, there is predator interference which may lead to extinction of the prey, meanwhile, the protected zone does not allow predator and thus the fishing environment has no implications.

River discharge, fishing effort and catch composition of prawn fisheries in coastal Tanzania

This study examined the relationships between river discharge, fishing effort and catch composition of prawn fisheries in coastal Tanzania. Key assumptions were that river discharge would be a good indicator of rainfall and that the number of fishing vessels would reflect fishing intensity. We investigated whether reduced river discharge or increased fishing effort caused the collapse of the industrial prawn fishery in 2007, and which of these factors delayed recovery prior to reopening the fishery in 2017. The analysis showed a positive relationship between Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) and river discharge, with decreased river flow resulting in reduced prawn catches. The number of fishing vessels had little impact on CPUE before 2003, but thereafter CPUE declined even when fishing effort was reduced by 50%. A shift in trawl catches from a prawn-dominated fishery to a fish-dominated fishery was observed four years before the collapse. The trend in river discharge persisted below average (22 m³/s) between 2000 and 2007. Forewarning of low river discharge, changing trawl catch composition, and increasing effort may have led to developing proactive strategies to minimise the impact of a changing regime on fish stocks and dependent communities. We recommend establishing a monitoring system to anticipate similar events in the future.

Revealing the role of crab as bait in octopus fishery: An ecological and fishing approach to support management decisions

In southern Portugal, artisanal octopus fisheries play an important socioeconomic role. Live crab bait in traps was used up to 2010 and banned in 2012. Such regulation, based on co-management advice, was not established under a scientific fundament. As a result, a long-standing controversy ensued with some fishing associations claiming that live crab bait increased fishing effort and exploitation rates and therefore risked the octopus stock status, while other fishers denied all these alleged impacts. The issue has not been resolved so far due to lack of scientific studies. In this study, we resolve the controversy conducting experimental fishing to determine by-catch and octopus catch rates using live crab bait versus other types of baits based on fish and assess the stock status of octopus over-time with constant parameters (hypothesis of no effect of the use of live crab bait) versus time-varying parameters (hypothesis of raised exploitation rates and riskier stock status). Bycatch was very low regardless of bait type. Our experimental fishing trials showed that fish-based baits increase bycatch and octopus catch rates. Stock assessment models showed that exploitation rates and stock status do not worsen in years of use of crab bait. We conclude that the use of crab bait in octopus fishery does not lead to increased exploitation rate or risks for stock sustainability status. Other considerations involving fishing costs and fishing operations further highlight the advantages of lifting the ban on the use of live crab bait in the Algarve octopus fishery.

Exploitation and depredation rates determine viability of depredation-impacted fisheries

Depredation can broadly affect marine socio-ecological systems, yet it has been little studied via modelling approaches. Here we used qualitative mathematical modelling of system feedback (Puccia and Levins’ loop analysis) and a system of ordinary differential equations to represent major interactions between a fishery, an exploited stock and a depredating species. We then assess response of depredation-impacted fisheries to three scenarios of sustained changes: i) increased fishing effort, ii) increased abundance of depredating species and iii) increased abundance of the exploited stock. Persistence of depredation-impacted fisheries depends on (1) the fishers’ success in retrieving fish onboard being relatively greater than the ability of depredating species to remove the catch from the gear and (2) sustainable management of the exploited and depredated stock. Moreover, predicted responses of depredation-impacted systems can be summarised according to four broad categories, which partially depend on (1) the population dynamics of the stock and its exploitation status, and (2) the ecology of the depredating species and the magnitude of its competition with fishers. In all categories, an increase in the rate of growth of the depredating species reduces fishery yield, which is likely to intensify fishing effort as fishers try and compensate for losses. However, such an increase in effort is only sustainable for well-managed stocks harvested by a fishery that is sufficiently profitable to support extra costs. We identify several processes that determine the co-existence of fishers, exploited stocks and depredating species and propose a suite of recommendations to better represent depredation in marine ecosystem and fisheries models.

Performance indicators for the large‐scale Acoupa weakfish fishery of the Amazon continental shelf

AbstractThe Acoupa weakfish, Cynoscion acoupa, is an important fishery resource of the Brazilian North coast that is commercially valuable, particularly for its gas bladder (fish maw), which is exported to Asian markets. However, because of intensive fishing and lack of reliable data, the Acoupa weakfish is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN. We used Fisheries Performance Indicators (FPIs) to evaluate C. acoupa fisheries on the Amazon continental shelf, to inform management actions. The ecological indicator had the lowest score due to increased fishing effort associated with high demand for the fish maw, and the co‐management indicator was also unsatisfactory due to the predominance of fishing entrepreneurs and a lack of sustainable management practices. Our findings showed that the C. acoupa fishery is precarious in its sustainability, mainly because of harvest and co‐management which were the least satisfactory metrics.

Socio-ecological drivers of demersal fishing activity in the North Sea: The case of three German fleets

Worldwide, fisheries face the consequences of climate change and compete with expanding human activities at sea, which may trigger unforeseen reactions of fishers. Hence, knowledge on drivers of fishing behavior is crucial for management and needs to be integrated in resource management policies. In this study, we identify factors influencing fishing activity of North Sea demersal fleets. First, we explore drivers of the North Sea demersal fisheries in scientific literature. Subsequently, we study the effects of identified drivers on the spatio-temporal dynamics of German demersal fisheries using boosted regression trees (BRT), a supervised machine learning technique. An exploratory literature review revealed a lack of studies incorporating biophysical, economic and socio-cultural fishing drivers in a single quantitative analysis. Our BRT analysis contributed to filling this research gap and highlighted the importance of biophysical drivers such as temperature, salinity, and bathymetry for fishing behavior. Contrary to findings of previous studies, our empirical analysis identified quotas and market prices to be irrelevant, except for low brown shrimp prices, which counter-intuitively increased fishing effort. Moreover, economic and socio-cultural variables influencing brown shrimp fishing effort differed from the other fleets, especially determined by increased effort on workdays and reduced effort when fuel prices were high. Our findings provide key information for marine spatial planning and supports the integration of fishing fleet behavior into policies.

Trends in Indian Ocean marine fisheries since 1950: synthesis of reconstructed catch and effort data

Context Contrary to other ocean basins, Indian Ocean catches have increased consistently since 1950, although reported data are known to be incomplete. Fish is a crucial food source in the Indian Ocean; however, ineffective management often empowers over-exploitation. Aims We synthesised and reviewed Indian Ocean reconstructed catch and effort data by fishing sector and fishing country at the ocean-basin scale. Methods We aggregated reported and reconstructed unreported catch and effort data for the Indian Ocean and derived catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) time-series by sector. Key results Indian Ocean rim country catches dominated in the Indian Ocean. Small-scale catches in the Indian Ocean have grown continuously by over 300% from 1.9 × 106 tonnes (Mg) year−1 in 1950 to 6.5 × 106 tonnes year−1 by 2018. By contrast, total industrial catches from the Indian Ocean have reached a plateau at ~8.5 × 106 tonnes year−1 since the late 1990s, after having steadily risen from very low levels in the early 1960s. Unreported catches declined from 45 to 25% of total catches. Total fishing effort, driven by the industrial sector, has increased 30-fold since 1950 from 0.4 × 109 to 11 × 109 kW-days by 2010, whereas CPUE has declined 78%, with steeper declines in the small-scale (>80% since 1950) than in the industrial sector (65% from its 1981 peak). Conclusions The different sectoral patterns in the Indian Ocean compared with other ocean basins are likely to be due to the region’s high dependence on small-scale fisheries and the later onset but swift growth of industrial fishing. The declining CPUE suggests strong decreases in stock biomass caused by strongly increasing fishing effort, especially in the industrial sector. Implications Indian Ocean countries should prioritise lower-impact well-managed domestic small-scale fisheries to maximise long-term, sustainable nutrient supply for local livelihoods.

Stock status of giant catfish Netuma thalassina (Rüppell, 1837) from Tamil Nadu, India waters

AbstractInformation on the stock status of giant catfish Netuma thalassina (Rüppell, 1837) is meagre due to lack of catch and effort data. Therefore, we reconstructed catch and effort data of the giant catfish fishery in Tamil Nadu, India waters from 2001 to 2020. Catch and effort data were analyzed with Catch and Effort Data Analysis (CEDA), Catch Maximum Sustainable Yield (CMSY) and the Bayesian state‐space implementation of the Schaefer production Model (BSM). Results indicated that giant catfish resources were fully exploited and reached the stage of overexploitation in 2014. Considering the high vulnerability to climate change, very high susceptibility to fishing, increased fishing effort and fully exploited status of giant catfish fishery, we propose a significant reduction of fishing effort to ensure sustainable exploitation.

Mind the gaps for the best practices: Enhancing the management of Lake Victoria fisheries resources

AbstractFisheries resources face a confluence of socio‐ecological challenges, the resolution of which requires interdisciplinary scientific information for sustainable utilization and management. The present study assessed gaps and challenges in Lake Victoria fisheries resources management for better research focus, policy formulation and improved governance of the fishery towards sustainability. Using key informant interviews and a plenary discussion with trans‐disciplinary experts regarding Lake Victoria fisheries research, management and policy sectors, the present study identified current management challenges, gaps and priorities. The present study results indicate a constantly increasing fishing effort, poor enforcement of existing regulations and pollution and invasive weeds pose the greatest threats to the sustainability of Lake Victoria's fisheries resources. Policy gaps include a lack of regulations on emerging technologies (e.g. cage culture) and an absence of implementation guidelines and framework for some existing policies. The aspects and gaps of each challenge are discussed, using available literature for the lake, with policy and capacity interventions recommended under each section for sustainable management of Lake Victoria fisheries resources.

Intensive Fishing Effort and Market Controls as Management Tools for Invasive Aquatic Species: A Review

Invasive aquatic species may disrupt ecosystems and cause socioeconomic damage. Biosecurity protocols were developed to prevent transport and unintended introductions of invasive species, but less attention has been paid to management once they become established. The use of classical fisheries stock assessment to determine levels at which selectively targeted fisheries elicit recruitment overfishing is discussed. Case studies of several species of invasive aquatic organisms, including lionfish Pterois spp. two species of mytilids and three species of crayfish, including Faxonius rusticus (Girard, 1852), are discussed as examples. Fecundity as measured by egg production rate (EPR) is a key factor determining how the various species react to fishing pressure. Ecosystem modelling of predatorprey relations between indigenous and invasive aquatic species suggests that restricting fishing effort on indigenous predators of invasive prey may be as effective in managing invasive species in lieu of directly increasing fishing effort on the targeted species itself. Invasive mytilids Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771) and Mytella strigata (Hanley, 1843) may not be effectively controlled by intensive fishing effort due to high EPR values. However, crayfish that brood offspring and exhibit much lower EPR values may be ideal candidates for stock assessment and setting fishing effort targets to promote recruitment overfishing. Recommendations for managing invasive aquatic species include: collecting data on population dynamics of the invasive species; assessing predator populations; developing fisheries that target the invasive species; and collecting socioeconomic data to understand the human dimensions of the impacts of the invasive species and inform subsequent policy development.

Network approaches for formalizing conceptual models in ecosystem-based management

AbstractQualitative Network Models (QNMs), Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs), and Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) have been proposed as methods to formalize conceptual models of social–ecological systems and project system responses to management interventions or environmental change. To explore how these different methods might influence conclusions about system dynamics, we assembled conceptual models representing three different coastal systems, adapted them to the network approaches, and evaluated outcomes under scenarios representing increased fishing effort and environmental warming. The sign of projected change was the same across the three network models for 31–60% of system variables on average. Pairwise agreement between network models was higher, ranging from 33 to 92%; average levels of similarity were comparable between network pairs. Agreement measures based on both the sign and strength of change were substantially worse for all model comparisons. These general patterns were similar across systems and scenarios. Different outcomes between models led to different inferences regarding trade-offs under the scenarios. We recommend deployment of all three methods, when feasible, to better characterize structural uncertainty and leverage insights gained under one framework to inform the others. Improvements in precision will require model refinement through data integration and model validation.

Trends in phytoplankton communities within large marine ecosystems diverge from the global ocean

Large marine ecosystems (LMEs) are highly productive regions of the world ocean under anthropogenic pressures; we analyzed trends in sea surface temperature (SST), cloud fraction (CF), and chlorophyll concentration (CHL) over the period 1998–2019. Trends in these parameters within LMEs diverged from the world ocean. SST and CF inside LMEs increased at greater rates inside LMEs, whereas CHL decreased at a greater rates. CHL declined in 86% of all LMEs and of those trends, 70% were statistically significant. Complementary analyses suggest phytoplankton functional types within LMEs have also diverged from those characteristic of the world ocean, most notably, the contribution of diatoms and dinoflagellates, which have declined within LMEs. LMEs appear to be warming rapidly and receiving less solar radiation than the world ocean, which may be contributing to changes at the base of the food chain. Despite increased fishing effort, fishery yields in LMEs have not increased, pointing to limitations related to productivity. These changes raise concerns over the stability of these ecosystems and their continued ability to support services to human populations.

Fishing Effort and Associated Catch per Unit Effort for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mozambique Channel Region: 1950–2016

The Mozambique Channel region in East Africa has diverse marine ecosystems and serves as a migratory corridor for economically important species. Local and foreign industrial fisheries operate in the Mozambique Channel, but regional small-scale fisheries are the crucially important fisheries that provide food security, livelihoods, and economic opportunities for rural coastal communities. This study reconstructed and investigated trends in the fishing effort and catch per unit effort (CPUE) of small-scale marine fisheries in four Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) that constitute the Mozambique Channel, i.e., Union of Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Mozambique, from 1950 to 2016. Effective fishing effort for small-scale fisheries in the form of fishing capacity in kWdays (i.e., kilowatt days) was derived using the number, length, motorization (engine power) by fishing vessels, as well as an approximate human-powered equivalent for shore-based fishers without vessels, as well as days of fishing per year. Effective small-scale fishing effort in the Mozambique Channel increased by nearly 60 times from just over 386,000 kWdays in 1950 to over 23 million kWdays in 2016. Correspondingly, the overall small-scale CPUE, based on previously and independently reconstructed catch data declined by 91% in the region as a whole, from just under 175 kg⋅kWday–1 in the early 1950s to just over 15 kg⋅kWday–1 in recent years. All four EEZs showed the strongest declines in the small-scale CPUE in the earlier decades, driven by motorization and growth in vessel numbers impacting effective fishing effort. Increased motorization combined with a substantial growth in overall vessel numbers were the drivers of the increasing fishing effort and decreasing CPUE, and clearly suggest that continuing to increase the fishing capacity of small-scale fisheries in the absence of effective and restrictive management actions may exacerbate overexploitation risk.

Climatic Variability and Diversification in Fishery Livelihood- a Case Study of Puffer Fish Fishery along South-Eastern Arabian Sea

Impacts of climate variability and resulting changes in aquatic ecosystems have caused a rapid shift in the spatial distribution of species. This shift forces diversification in livelihood options among the fishers. Many resources are emerging as new fishery which could be the indicator of changes in the food web and ecosystems as a whole due to climatic variability coupled with changes in exploitation patterns. One of the emerging non-conventional fishery resources is the pufferfish which is exploited along the Karnataka coast, south-eastern Arabian Sea. A decrease in mean trophic level due to the increased fishing effort or climatic variability resulted in the removal of top-level predators leading to the rise of mid-level carnivores like Lagocephalus inermis in the Arabian Sea. A substantial increase has been noticed in the landing of pufferfish in trawl along with Karnataka since 2007 and has resulted in diversification of the employment in the fisheries sector. The pufferfish brought to the shore by trawlers are degutted, de-skinned, and cut into small pieces, and packed for transportation to other parts of the country. This sector has provided employment to about fifty women in each landing center, and each of them earns INR 200-300/day. The matured eggs collected from the fish are sold at a price of INR 10/kg. In addition, the trade of salted and dried fishes generated employment to an additional 50 women in the sector. This diversification has given more employment opportunities, especially to women. The study conducted revealed an increase of 1.5 fold from landing to the final product. Diversification of the livelihood to cope up with the changes in the fishery is an adaptation measure to combat species shift associated with climate change and climatic variability.

Assessing the implications of live claw removal on Jonah crab (Cancer borealis), an emerging fishery in the Northwest Atlantic

In the Northwest Atlantic fisheries management is adapting to emerging fisheries. The fishery for Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) is rapidly expanding resulting in a quadrupling of landings over the past 20 years. In response to this increased fishing effort, management plans have begun adopting a suite of regulatory measures, one of which allows the live removal of claws at-sea. The overall goal of this project was to determine if claw removal has an impact on crab mortality. Results from a series of laboratory trials with individual crabs (n = 240) indicate that double-claw removal incurs markedly more mortality (70 %) compared with single-claw removal (51 %). Mortality was significantly correlated with wound size, temperature, and shell condition (GLM, p < 0.05), as well as elevated levels of glucose and lactate in the haemolymph of declawed animals. We also conducted a comparative claw removal trial (n = 40) using both manual- and mechanically-induced (using a declawing tool) methods and showed that mortality in manually declawed crabs (87 %) was much higher than when claws were removed mechanically (40 %, Wilcoxon pairs test, p < 0.0001). Finally, when claws were removed from tagged crabs released in the field (n = 464), four times as many control crabs were recaptured than crabs with claws mechanically removed, and none of the crabs whose claws were manually removed were recaptured (p = 0.0048). Overall, claw removal results in a significant number of mortalities. However, our findings also provide a foundation for future investigations on the sub-lethal effects of claw removal on Jonah crabs as well as the impacts of claw harvesting to improve fisheries management of this rapidly burgeoning fishery.

Where have all the sawfishes gone? Perspectives on declines of these Critically Endangered species in Sri Lanka

Abstract All five species of sawfishes (family Pristidae) are amongst the most threatened marine fishes in the world, with steep population declines and local extinctions documented across their ranges. Sawfishes have featured in Sri Lankan species checklists since 1889. However, landing records are extremely rare and little information is available on their status, diversity, and recent occurrences. Interviews were conducted with 300 fishers and 10 fish traders. Only 39% of fishers (n = 118) could identify sawfishes, 37% had seen sawfishes (although half not since 1992), and only 10.7% had ever caught one. No respondents under 30 years could identify sawfishes. Older respondents (&gt;50 years) were more likely to have caught sawfishes and reported seeing them frequently until 30 years ago, while younger respondents had only seen them at landing sites and, at most, once or twice in their life. Only 10 respondents had seen a sawfish in the last decade, suggesting that sawfishes were relatively abundant in the past but that populations have drastically declined. Of the 32 respondents who had caught sawfishes, 30 reported declining numbers and attributed it to fishing pressure. These steep declines coincide with the time of increased fishing effort, the development of the aquaculture industry, and resulting degradation of coastal habitats in the 1980–1990s. Overall, sawfishes had little cultural significance although fishers had specific names for the different species occurring here and rostra were sometimes donated to Catholic churches for ‘good luck’. Landed sawfishes were primarily sold for meat and traders appeared unaware of the high value of fins. It is likely that sawfishes are now functionally extinct as a component of coastal ecosystems in Sri Lanka. Immediate action including species‐specific legislation and critical habitat protection is urgently needed to provide remaining sawfishes and other sharks and rays with a fighting chance.