Discovery of a pupping site and nursery for critically endangered green sawfish Pristis zijsron

A pilot study targeting sawfishes in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia, which is undergoing a major expansion in human activity, was conducted using gillnets during April and October 2011 in the Ashburton Estuary and adjacent mangrove creeks. Catch per unit effort was greatest in the Ashburton Estuary in October, due to an influx of green sawfish Pristis zijsron pups, and was orders of magnitude higher than previously reported for any Pristidae; the study sites contained P. zijsron up to almost 3 m total length. This study identified the first pupping site for P. zijsron in Western Australia, and the most southerly known nursery area for the species in Australian waters, and is potentially the most important globally.