ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—A mysterious affliction that causes prehistoric, endangered smalltooth sawfish to spin erratically in Florida waters and often die appears to have resurfaced, with more than 50 deaths recorded last year, wildlife officials said Wednesday.
Following a roughly nine-month lull, there have been 22 reports of the odd spinning behavior involving sawfish in waters around the Florida Keys since December, the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported. Six sawfish deaths were reported in this recent outbreak.
It’s unclear what is causing the problem that led to at least 54 sawfish deaths last year. The agency reported that testing for parasites, bacteria, viruses, and more than 250 chemicals, as well as checks for such issues as toxic red tide, turned up nothing definitive….