Welcome to our blog series, Research Highlights! On the second Monday of each month, we debut newly published fisheries research by our women of fisheries colleagues. If you have research you would like to highlight and share with our readers, submit a nomination form!

This Month’s Research Highlight:
Kroetz, A.M., A.B. Brame, M. Bernanke, M.T. McDavitt, and T.R. Wiley. 2021. Tracking public interest and perceptions about smalltooth sawfish conservation in the USA using  Instagram. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 2021:1–9. 

We get it, social media gets a bad rap. It can consume our time and energy in unhealthy ways, but it also provides a way to connect with others, share our positive experiences, and raise awareness about important issues. And let’s face it – when we find or experience something special, we love to share it. Eat an amazing meal? “Post it!” Take a beautiful picture of a sunset? “Post it!” Catch a crazy cool looking fish? “Oh yeah, definitely post that!” 

What if we can learn something from all these social media posts to help conserve an endangered species? 

That was the question recently posed by a team of researchers led by Dr. Andrea Kroetz. Dr. Kroetz is an Assistant Scientist with the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She currently works out of the Panama City Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center.

And she loves smalltooth sawfish.

The smalltooth sawfish Pristis pectinata is a type of elasmobranch and more specifically a type of ray. Like other rays, they have cartilaginous skeletons and their gills and mouth are found on their underside. They are not to be confused with sawsharks which, like other sharks, have their gills on the side. The smalltooth sawfish is one of only five species of sawfish in the world, and the only species found in U.S. waters. All sawfishes are considered endangered, but the smalltooth sawfish was the first native marine fish to be listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2003. Their numbers are low for several reasons, including bycatch in commercial fisheries, habitat loss, and illegal trade. Under the Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to catch, harm or kill one of these fish, but they are still sometimes caught incidentally. 

“The uniqueness of this family of rays coupled with their population decline intrigued me and I wanted to get involved in research that would help conserve the species,” notes Dr. Kroetz. One look at one of these fish and you can see why so many people find them fascinating. Check out that toothy rostrum! 

And I bet if you see one, you just might want to post a picture!

That’s where conservation culturomics comes into play. According to the Conservation Culturomics website, this growing field “aims to look at human-nature interactions as these are manifested in the ever expanding, digital realm.” Dr. Kroetz and another co-author on the study, Tonya Wiley, founder of Havenworth Coastal Conservation, first learned about this type of research from a previously published study on the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. While on a sawfish research expedition together in the Bahamas, the two discussed the potential for mining social media posts for information about the smalltooth sawfish. And a study was born. 

After considering different social media platforms, Dr. Kroetz and her colleagues focused their efforts on Instagram. Searching hashtags, researchers located Instagram posts involving sawfishes and then recorded information like date, location, whether the encounter was reported (if you see one, please report it!), tone and conservation messaging, and how people were interacting with the fish. Researchers found that the number of social media reports of sawfish encounters each year mirrored the number of self-reported sawfish encounters that were reported through the traditional phone and online system. Most people were excited to catch sight of a sawfish and viewed the opportunity as a positive experience. However, in about a third of the posts, illegal activity – primarily landing the fish – was observed, although there was no mention of any rostrums or fish being harvested. Information gathered from this study can be very helpful in directing future education efforts that would focus on species education, what to do if a sawfish is encountered or caught, and reporting sightings of sawfish. In fact, these expanded efforts are already underway, including new conservation ads on social media that promote #RespectReleaseReport and an animated sawfish interaction guidelines video being produced by Tonya Wiley that will also be shared on social media.    

Although social media can have its downfalls, it has become a central part of our lives and we can harness its power for good. “Social media provides an avenue to reach a much larger audience of people than traditional means and thus provides us the opportunity to educate a greater number and perhaps a more diverse set of people,” notes Dr. Kroetz. She further encourages fisheries scientists to partner with digital media experts. “Collaborating with specialists of a specific platform could ensure that all algorithms are thoroughly searched and all possible data are collected, in addition to establishing a way to connect with the wider public audience.”

So, go ahead, do it to the Gram!

International Sawfish Day is October 17th! Sawfish researchers from around the world will be coming together to raise awareness about these amazing fish at local aquariums and museums and through online platforms. You can check out Dr. Kroetz on October 15th at 11am EST for a live webinar at the virtual St. Pete Science Festival!

The full manuscript can be found and downloaded here:
doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3680

Smalltooth sawfish sightings can be reported by calling 1-844-4-SAWFISH or on the U.S. Sawfish Research and Conservation website:
http://www.sawfishrecovery.org

For more information about conservation culturomics: 
conservationculturomics.com

For more information about smalltooth sawfish in the United States:
fisheries.noaa.gov/species/smalltooth-sawfish 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/southeast-fisheries-science-center