MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A Bay area resident is doing her part to save smalltooth sawfish from a mortality event in South Florida.

What You Need To Know

  • According to NOAA, fish have been seen whirling and spinning during a mortality event in the Florida Keys 

  • Researchers say they do not know what is causing the animals to act strangely

  • During the event, there have been 28 smalltooth sawfish deaths, according to NOAA data

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, fish have been seen whirling and spinning during a mortality event in the Florida Keys. Researchers say they still do not know the cause, but there are teams from the Tampa Bay area working to save the endangered smalltooth sawfish.

There have been 28 smalltooth sawfish deaths since last fall, according to data from NOAA and the University of Florida.

Tonya Wiley, who has been studying sawfish in Florida for 23 years, says she considers this marine species to be part of her family.

She founded and operates Havenworth Coastal Conservation, a nonprofit that runs research operations out on the water for sharks, stingrays and sawfish.

“It's heartbreaking that these animals are dying in mass numbers down in the Keys right now,” she said.

In the Florida Keys, there have been documentations of fish spinning, whirling and dying for reasons unknown.

Wiley, who is the team leader for the U.S. Sawfish Research and Conservation Group, has been working with about 10 team members to save sawfish in the Keys.

“There's something that's causing these fish species to spin and whirl, and it's unfortunately causing sawfish to die," she said. "We still don't know what's causing it, but we are collecting dead sawfish, we are doing necropsies on them, we are collecting samples from organs, sending this out to figure out what is happening."

But to make all of this happen, the group needs money, which has been Wiley's job for the past few weeks.

“A lot of us are nonprofit organizations working on this, and we have exhausted our reserve funds through this already," she sai. "So I'm trying to get us emergency funding from as many foundations and organizations that I can, so I've been sitting at my computer the past couple of weeks applying for grant funding."

With the help of several other organizations like NOAA and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Wiley said she's hopeful answers will surface soon.

“This is the singular most devastating event that has happened to this population," she said. "It's vital we do everything we can to help these animals."

Wiley said her team will stay in the Florida Keys until the recovery efforts are complete.