The Smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) is a wide-ranging, but highly fragmented species of sawfish. It is primarily native to the Gulf of Mexico, South American and West African coastal regions. Fishing and habitat modification have, based on fish landing data, surveys and observations, inferred a reduction in population of greater then 95% since the 1960s. Due to these continuing threats, this species is listed as Critically Endangered. 

The Smalltooth sawfish population appears to have stopped declining in some geographic ranges due to strong national legislation by some range states, yet exact figures remain unknown. The species low reproductivity rates, slow growth and late maturity indicate that populations will be slow to recover. 

Sawfishes that require particular habitats at different stages of their life history (e.g. rivers, lakes, estuaries or areas of mangroves) are threatened by coastal and riverine developments that prevent them from migrating to these critical habitats (and sawfishes are amphidromous, moving between the sea and estuarine and freshwater habitats).

CMS Appendix I and II listings would yield significant benefits for one of the most threatened groups of chondrichthyan fishes by increasing cooperation and collaboration among range states.