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

Taxa
Caranx ignobilis | (Forsskål, 1775)
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
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species occurs throughout UAE waters. Globally, it is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific (Smith-Vaniz 1984, Randall et al. 1997, Smith-Vaniz 1999, Leis et al. 2006). The depth range is 10 to 188 m (Mundy 2005).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
Yes
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This pelagic speciesschools in a variety of habitats, including rocky and coral reefs and inshore sand flats (Lieske and Myers 1994, Wetherbee et al. 2004, Mundy 2005). Adults are solitary or in schools, and juveniles occur in small schools over sandy inshore bottoms and occasionally in turbid estuaries (Blaber and Cyrus1983, Myers 1999). The presence of estuarine habitat is not necessary for this speciesto thrive (Sudekum et al. 1991). Itfeeds during the day, mostly on demersal and pelagic fishes, but also cephalopods and crustaceans (Blaber and Cyprus1983, Sudekum et al. 1991). This species forms spawning aggregations on shallow seaward reefs and offshore banks (Sudekum et al. 1991, de Silva et al. 2014).This speciesis one of the largest of the carangid fishes, measuring up to 170 cm total length (Lieske and Myers 1994). It can live to at least 20 years of age and has been recorded to 30 years of age in captivity (Friedlander and Dalzell 2004). Femalesreach maturity at approximately 60 cm and 3-4 years of age (Sudekum et al. 1991). When applying an age at first reproduction of 4 years and longevity of 20 years, its estimated generation length is 12 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Data deficient
Assessment status abreviation
DD
Assessment rationale/justification
This inshore, pelagic species occurs throughout UAE waters, and is a valued food fish in UAE fisheries. Catch in Abu Dhabi declined by at least 82% between 2009-2018, but the cause of these declines is very poorly understood. No stock assessments have been conducted or are scheduled. The status of population(s) outside the UAE is not well-understood, but the species is also frequently taken in fisheries elsewhere. Based on the uncertainty regarding the population trend of this exploited species, it is listed as Data Deficient in UAE waters until updated data become available. Improvements in fisheries monitoring are needed.
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
Overexploitation is a potential major threat to this species in the UAE. Ithas experienced declines in human-populated areas in some parts of its range due to fishing (DeMartini et al. 2002, Meyer et al. 2007). This species is relatively long-lived and has a large maximum body size, which may cause it to have low resiliency to heavy fishing pressure. Corals in the UAE and Arabian Gulf have severely declined due to the increasing frequency of mass bleaching events caused by rising water temperatures, which is a consequence of climate change, as well as pervasive coastal development (Riegl et al. 2018, Burt et al. 2019).
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Caranx ignobilis Animalia Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Carangidae Caranx