Man faces prison and $50,000 fine for killing endangered sawfish

Witnesses say they saw man cutting off rostrum with power saw last year

A photo of a smalltooth sawfish courtesy of NOAA (NOAA)

A man in Florida is facing prison time and a $50,000 fine after allegedly killing an endangered smalltooth sawfish by removing the long, flat saw that is its namesake.

The man, Chad Ponce, pleaded guilty on Friday to killing the sawfish, according to the US attorney for the middle district of Florida. Prosecutors have said that Ponce was seen last year using a power saw to remove the fish’s rostrum — a beak-like projection — in the front of the sawfish.

He now faces up to a year in federal prison for the rostrum’s removal. Without it, a sawfish cannot sense or attack prey.

The United States has clocked a dramatic decrease in the number of sawfish in the ocean, with some estimates indicating there could be as many as 5,000 or as few as 500 left in the world, according to the Natural Resources Defence Council, an environmental advocacy group.

The fish has been protected under the Endangered Species Act of 2003, which is overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

That protection makes it illegal to catch, harm, harass, or kill the fish.

Ponce’s case was investigated by NOAA and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.