Acanthopagrus berda | UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes

Taxa

Acanthopagrus berda | (Forsskål, 1775)

Publication

UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes

Location

Countries in Assessment

United Arab Emirates

Country ISO code(s)

ARE

Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?

Off

Scope (Assessment)

National

Taxon

Taxonomic Group

Vertebrates

Taxonomic Group Level 2

Fishes

Assessed taxon level

Species

Taxonomic Notes

This species was previously confused with Acanthopagrus vagus in South Africa (Heemstra and Heemstra 2004, Iwatsuki and Heemstra 2010).

Taxon distribution as listed in assessment

In UAE waters, this species only occurs in the Sea of Oman. It is not likely to occur in the Arabian Gulf, and reports from there are probably misidentifications of Acanthopagrus randalli (Y. Iwatsuki pers. comm. 2013). Globally, it is restricted to the Indian Ocean where it occurs from South Africa, Madagascar to the Red Sea, India, Phuket and Malaysia (Iwatsuki and Heemstra 2010). This species occurs to 50 m depth.

Habitats and Ecology

Ecological system type

Terrestrial system

Freshwater system

Marine system

Yes

Habitat

Habitat details as listed in assessment

This is an estuarine-dependent species found mainly on sandy and muddy grounds in shallow coastal waters to 50 m depth (Fischer and Bianchi 1984, Garratt 1993). Juveniles inhabit protected bays and estuaries (Carpenter 2001). This species enters freshwaters in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Madagascar. It feeds on worms, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms and small fish (Fischer et al. 1990). The maximum length is 90 cm (Smith and Smith 1986). This species is a protandrous hermaphrodite (Allsop and West 2003).

Is there a map available in assessment?

Yes

Assessed status

Asessment status in full

Data deficient

Assessment status abreviation

Assessment rationale/justification

In the UAE, this coastal and estuarine species occurs only in the Sea of Oman. It is apparently naturally rare in UAE waters. The impact from the ongoing degradation of estuaries in the region may require further investigation. It is listed as Data Deficient.

About the assessment

Assessment year

2019

Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed

UAE National Red List Workshop

Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment

Government

IGO

Assessor affiliation specific

Government|IGO

Criteria system

Criteria system specifics

IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0

Criteria system used

IUCN

Criteria Citation

IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.

Endemism

Endemic to region

Not_assigned

Endemism Notes

Is an endemic?: Not_assigned

Conservation

Threats listed in assessment

Fishing activity is not known to be driving population declines at this time, but habitat degradation, especially of estuaries, may be impacting this species.

Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Scientific Name	Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family	Genus
Acanthopagrus berda	Animalia	Chordata	Actinopterygii	Perciformes	Sparidae	Acanthopagrus