ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Endangered smalltooth sawfish, marine creatures virtually unchanged for millions of years, are exhibiting erratic spinning behavior and dying in unusual numbers in Florida waters. Federal and state wildlife agencies are beginning an effort to rescue and rehabilitate sawfish to find out why.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced what it calls an “emergency response” focused on the Florida Keys starting next week. A NOAA news release called the effort unprecedented.
“If the opportunity presents itself, this would be the first attempt ever to rescue and rehabilitate smalltooth sawfish from the wild,” said Adam Brame, NOAA Fisheries’ sawfish recovery coordinator.
Sawfish, related to rays, skates and sharks, are named for their elongated, flat snout that contains a row of teeth on each side. They can live for decades and grow quite large, some as long as 16 feet (about 5 meters). They were once found all along the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coasts in the U.S., but now are mainly in southwestern Florida and the Keys island chain as their habitats shrink. A related species is found off Australia.
Since late January, state wildlife officials have been documenting what they call an “unusual mortality event” that has affected about 109 sawfish and killed at least 28 of them. There have been reports of abnormal behavior, such as the fish seen spinning or whirling in the water. Other species of fish also appear to have been affected.
“We suspect that total mortalities are greater, since sawfish are negatively buoyant and thus unlikely to float after death,” Brame said.
Officials haven't isolated a cause. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported Wednesday that sawfish necropsies have not revealed any pathogen or bacterial infections, nor problems with low water oxygen levels or contaminants such as chemicals, or toxic red tide. Water testing is continuing.
It's also not clear if the deaths and odd behaviors are related to a lengthy summer heat wave in Florida waters experts say was driven by climate change. The superheated waters caused other marine damage, such a coral bleaching and deaths of other ocean species.
The wildlife agencies are working with three organizations that will rehabilitate sawfish that are rescued. One of them, Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, said in a news release that even relatively small numbers of sawfish deaths could have a major impact on the population, listed as endangered since 2003.
“We have quarantine facilities ready to accommodate rescued sawfish where they would be under observation by qualified personnel under specific care and release guidelines," said Kathryn Flowers, Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellow and lead scientist on the sawfish issue. "Attempts to solve this mystery call for robust collaboration.”
Brame said the effort depends on tips and sightings from the public of dead or distressed sawfish so rescuers know where to look for them. NOAA has a tipline at 844-4-Sawfish and FWC has an email, sawfish@fwc.com.
In recent years, threatened manatees also suffered a major die-off in Florida waters as pollution killed much of their seagrass food source. State and federal officials fed tons of lettuce to manatees that gathered in winter outside a power plant for two years, and the manatee numbers have rebounded some with 555 deaths recorded in 2023 compared with a record 1,100 in 2021.
This image provided by NOAA shows a smalltooth sawfish. Endangered smalltooth sawfish, marine creatures virtually unchanged for millions of years, are exhibiting erratic spinning behavior and dying in unusual numbers in Florida waters. Federal and state wildlife agencies are beginning an effort to rescue and rehabilitate sawfish to find out why. (NOAA via AP)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A wealthy Silicon Valley-backed campaign to build a green city for up to 400,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area has submitted what it says are enough signatures to qualify the initiative for the November election.
The campaign submitted more than 20,000 signatures but would need only about 13,000 valid ones to qualify for the ballot. If verified by Solano County’s elections office, voters will decide in the fall whether to allow urban development on land currently zoned for agriculture. The land-use change would be necessary for the development to be built.
Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader who heads the company behind the campaign, California Forever, said at a news conference Tuesday that he heard from thousands of people who want careers and homes in the county where they grew up but can no longer afford because of high housing costs and a lack of nearby work.
“They are fed up with this malaise that's plagued California for the last 20 years with this culture of saying no to everything that has made it increasingly impossible for working families to reach the California dream,” he said.
The yet-unnamed development would mix homes, green space, a walkable downtown and jobs between Travis Air Force Base and the Sacramento River Delta city of Rio Vista. Sramek said he expects to start with 50,000 residents within the next decade, with homes starting at $400,000. The median sale price of a home in March was closer to $600,000, according to Redfin.
The controversial project has wealthy and powerful backers, including philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. The campaign declined to disclose how much money they spent to collect the signatures, saying that information would be available eventually.
It also faces strong opposition by some elected officials and other critics who say Sramek’s plan is a speculative money grab that’s light on details.
Sramek outraged locals by quietly purchasing more than $800 million in farmland since 2018 and even suing farmers who refused to sell. Reps. John Garamendi and Mike Thompson, who oppose the project, were initially alarmed that foreign adversaries or investors might be buying up the land because of its proximity to the Air Force base.
“What people are really upset about are the tactics being used to obtain the goal at the end. The promise of jobs and affordable housing, that's not a guarantee," said Princess Washington, mayor pro tem of Suisun City. “What we’re looking at is a policy change, and overturning of our stance against sprawl development.”
Sramek unveiled plans for the development in January but had to amend the land-use change ballot initiative twice to address county and Air Force concerns. The delays haven't slowed the project's timeline.
The proposal includes an initial $400 million to help residents and Air Force base families buy homes in the community or for new affordable housing, as well as an initial guarantee of 15,000 local jobs paying a salary of at least $88,000 a year.
California is desperate for more housing, but critics of the project say it would be more environmentally sound to build within existing cities than to convert designated farmland.
AP journalist Terry Chea contributed to this report from Solano County.
Suisun City Mayor Pro Tem Princess Washington stands next to the Suisun Slough in Suisun City on April 30, 2024. She's part of a coalition called California Together that opposes the new Solano County city proposed by California Forever. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Jan Sramek, CEO of California Forever, speaks at a news conference announcing that his group has submitted signatures for a November ballot measure that would clear hurdles to build a new city in Solano County. Vallejo, Calif. April 30, 2024 (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
FILE - A map of a new proposed community in Solano County, Calif., is displayed during a news conference in Rio Vista, Calif. on Jan. 17, 2024. The Silicon Valley-backed campaign to build a new city in California for up to 400,000 people said Tuesday, April 30, 2024, it has submitted enough signatures to qualify an initiative for the November election. (AP Photo/Janie Har, File)
