Stevens et al., 2005:

"Members of the genus Glyphis and Pristis are amongst the most threatened elasmobranchs worldwide and there is growing national and international concern over their status. There is still considerable uncertainty over the taxonomy of the genus Glyphis (Family Carcharhinidae) that is represented by four to six species in the Indo-West Pacific. All species are considered to be endangered throughout their distribution and some are feared extinct within South-East Asia. Within northern Australia, there are two species both of which appear to have extremely limited habitat preferences and despite intensive surveys fewer than 20 specimens had been recorded from five rivers prior to 2003. In Australia, Glyphis have only been recorded from freshwater and weakly saline habitats and it is uncertain whether they are limited to these areas or are also found in marine environments.

Sawfish (Family Pristidae; Genus Pristis) are represented by about seven species worldwide with four species found in Australia. Sawfish are particularly vulnerable to capture in gill net and trawl fisheries due to their heavily toothed rostrum. While there are few quantitative data, the numbers of sawfish appear to have declined drastically along the east coast of Australia. Sawfish are now virtually extinct in NSW and south-east Queensland. Measuring declines elsewhere is hindered by a lack of records and poor species identification. Both Pristis microdon and Pristis zijsron are found throughout northern Australia; however their abundance and specific habitat requirements are unknown. From data collected to date, it appears that juvenile P. microdon appear to be mainly confined to freshwater environments. 

By-catch from the Queensland Shark Program comprises a large dataset over about 30 years of beach meshing around major Queensland population centres during the summer months; although species identifications or biological data are lacking. These data show a clear decline in sawfish catch from 1970-1990 (Figure 1.11.1), over which period the fishing effort was relatively constant (Giles et al., CSIRO Marine Research, unpublished report)."

 

 

 

 

---

Citation and/or URL

Stevens, J. D., Pillans, R. D., Salini, J. (2005)  Conservation assessment of Glyphis sp. A (speartooth shark), Glyphis sp. C (northern river shark), Pristis microdon (freshwater sawfish) and Pristis zijsron (green sawfish). Final Report to the Department of Environment and Heritage. June 2005. CSIRO 

---

Spatial Coverage

National 

---

Temporal Coverage

 1969-2003

---

Update Frequency

 Not applicable 

---

Other Information

Compagno, L J. V., White, W. T., and Last, P. R (2008)  Glyphis garricki sp. Nov., a new species of river shark (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae) from northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, with a redescription of Glyphis glyphis (Muller & Henle, 1839) in Descriptions on New Australian Chondrichthyans, Edited by P. R. Last, W. T. White & Pogonoski, J. J., CSIRO Research Paper 022