MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. – With fewer people out enjoying Florida’s water, some sea creatures you don’t see too often have been spotted in local waterways.
Three giant smalltooth sawfish were captured on video next to a dock in the shallow water in the Indian River in Melbourne Beach.
Michael Alvarez caught the encounter on video and shared the post on Facebook.
Alavarez said, “Got to witness something amazing this morning in Melbourne Beach in the Indian River. Never thought I would ever see one of these saw nose fish especially this big and up close like this.”
The video shows an up-close view of one of the sawfish, but according to Alvarez, there were three circling in the same area.
“The best part is that there were three of them,” Alvarez said on Facebook.
From the video, the fish appear to be huge. Alvarez estimated they were at least 12-feet long.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says that although the sawfish swim like sharks, they are in fact more closely related to stingrays. The creatures can grow to be up to 17-feet long.
The FWC says sawfish sightings are now less common because they were unintentionally over fished.
Alavrez reported the sighting to the FWC so the agency can better understand which areas the sawfish are in.
To report a sawfish encounter to the FWC, email sawfish@myfwc.com or call 1-844-4SAWFISH.
For more information on the species, click here.