State of Our Water Quarterly Speaker Series - Dr. Gregg Poulakis on Smalltooth Sawfish

Name: State of Our Water Quarterly Speaker Series - Dr. Gregg Poulakis on Smalltooth Sawfish
Start: 2026-01-10T09:30:00-05:00
Location: Fort Myers-Lee County Garden Council

Schedule

Sat, 10 Jan, 2026 at 09:30 am

UTC-05:00

Location

Fort Myers-Lee County Garden Council | Fort Myers, FL

Gregg Poulakis, Ph.D. of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will present “The Last Stronghold: Endangered Smalltooth Sawfish in Florida.”
Calusa Waterkeeper Joe Cavanaugh will highlight potential development impacts to sawfish habitat in the Caloosahatchee and how the public can get involved.
Calusa Waterkeeper will welcome Dr. Gregg Poulakis of the Fish and Wildlife Research Center, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to discuss the endangered smalltooth sawfish, sharing what is known about this unique species and what is being done to promote its recovery in the Caloosahatchee River and beyond.
The event will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at the Fort Myers-Lee County Garden Council headquarters at 2166 Virginia Ave, Fort Myers, FL 33901.
The smalltooth sawfish looks like a shark with a hedge trimmer for a nose. Historically, it was found in warm coastal waters on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Today, the species is only regularly found in south Florida and the western Bahamas. Thus, Florida state waters are “recovery central” if the species is going to avoid extinction, especially considering the mass mortality events that occurred in the Florida Keys in 2024 and 2025.
Gregg is a Fish Biologist who earned a B.S. in biology from the State University of New York at Oswego, M.S. in marine biology from Florida Tech (wetland fishes), Ph.D. in oceanography from Florida Tech (sawfish). He started working for the State of Florida in 1997. His research interests are interdisciplinary and broadly related to improving our understanding of the life histories of fishes, especially economically important and endangered species that use coastal habitats like estuaries for all or part of their lives. Gregg has written 54 peer reviewed publications on topics such as reproductive biology and habitat use by snook, tarpon, gag grouper, cownose rays, and of course, the smalltooth sawfish.
Following Dr. Poulakis’s presentation, Calusa Waterkeeper Joe Cavanaugh will be discussing the potential impacts of specific development projects and resource management to the smalltooth sawfish habitat in the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, and how you can get involved in local advocacy efforts.
Additionally, the CWK Ranger Zone Leaders will contribute to the State of Our Water Address, providing a brief update on recent happenings and the health of our local waterways in various areas of Calusa Waterkeeper’s work area.