Critically endangered sawfish caught off Karnataka coast. Watch video

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A Twitter account, Mangalore City, shared photographs of the sawfish. “An extremely rare & endangered species of carpenter shark (sawfish) was caught in fishnets at Malpe on Thursday. The huge carpenter shark weighed around 250 kgs, was accidentally trapped in the nets of a boat named ‘Sea Captain’ that had left Malpe port to fish in deep waters,” read the tweet.

An extremely rare & endangered species of carpenter shark (sawfish) was caught in fishnets at Malpe on Thursday. 🦈

The huge carpenter shark weighed around 250 kgs, was accidentally trapped in the nets of a boat named ‘Sea Captain’ that had left Malpe port to fish in deep waters pic.twitter.com/3AimndOv1I

— Mangalore City (@MangaloreCity) March 12, 2022

“As per the experts, Carpenter sharks are an endangered species with their population has been on a decline. They are a protected species in India under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, ” Mangalore City further tweeted. Citing local media reports, the Twitter user also said that the fish was then ‘purchased’ by a trader from Mangaluru.

It was already dead. According to local media reports, the fish was then ‘purchased’ by a trader from Mangaluru.

— Mangalore City (@MangaloreCity) March 12, 2022

Twitter users were enraged and saddened as the giant fish got caught in fishing net.” Very sad. It should have been saved and left into waters,” commented a user.

@SeksariaDevang I insist you put up with instantaneous litigation. This is distasteful.

— ARPIT AGARWAL (@arpitagar1) March 12, 2022

Very sad. It should have been saved and left into waters.

— Suresh Kumar BS (@sureshdatasol) March 12, 2022

The continuation of a generation of species simply depend on what’s on we choose on our plate.#Moderation https://t.co/kxAAV1Wxzc

— Matsya Music (@adarshrise) March 12, 2022

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), all seven species of sawfish are listed as Critically Endangered. The species can grow more than seven metre in length. Their long flattened snouts (or saws) with tooth-like edges make them vulnerable to fishing nets. Bycatch in fishing nets poses a major threat to the species.