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

Taxa

Gnathanodon speciosus | (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

Taxon distribution as listed in assessment

This species occurs throughout UAE waters. Globally, it is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific (Smith-Vaniz 1984, 1995, R. Myers pers. comm. 2016). The depth range is 1 to 162 m (Mundy 2005).

Habitats and Ecology

Ecological system type

Terrestrial system

Freshwater system

Marine system

Yes

Habitat

Habitat details as listed in assessment

This pelagic species occurs inshore and over rocky reefs, deep lagoons and seaward reefs (Smith-Vaniz 1984, Mundy 2005). Juveniles often occurs in estuaries (Mundy 2005). Both juveniles and adult are occasionally seen over sandy areas where they root for crustaceans, molluscs and small fish (Carpenter et al. 1997b). Small juveniles may live among the tentacles of jellyfish (Lieske and Myers 1994). The mean total length at first maturity for females in the Gulf is 32.5 cm. This speciesspawns during April and May (Grandcourt et al. 2004). Spawning occurs during the Spring season in UAE waters and the mean fork length at first maturity is about 34.5 cm with an age at first maturity of 1.43 years and an estimated longevity of 11 years (Farrag et al. 2019). When applying an age at first reproduction of 1.43 years and longevity of 11 years, its estimated generation length is 6.2 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. The maximum total length is 120 cm (Randall 1995).

Is there a map available in assessment?

Yes

Assessed status

Asessment status in full

Data deficient

Assessment status abreviation

Assessment rationale/justification

This pelagic, inshore species occurs throughout UAE waters, and is targeted by recreational fishers as well as the commercial trap fishery and retained as bycatch in gill net fisheries. Its presence in UAE fish markets has noticeably declined over time. The Abu Dhabi stock was first reported as overfished in 2004, and a subsequent stock assessment in 2014 concluded it had collapsed. According to an analysis of its stock status in 2018, the resource was considered sustainably exploited. Catch in Abu Dhabi declined by 85% from 2014-2018, but the cause of this decline is poorly understood due in part to the lack of data on effort. The status of population(s) outside the UAE is not well-understood, though it is also targeted by fisheries elsewhere, and was considered fully exploited off Qatar as of 2011. 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. 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
Gnathanodon speciosus	Animalia	Chordata	Actinopterygii	Perciformes	Carangidae	Gnathanodon