Mobula mobular | UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes
Taxa
Mobula mobular | (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Publication
Asessment status in full
Vulnerable
Assessment status abreviation
VU
Assessment status criteria
A2d
Assessment rationale/justification
The Giant Devil Ray occurs throughout UAE waters. This species is not targeted or valued in markets of the UAE and capture of this species is totally banned in the UAE. It is a component of the bycatch in several fisheries, but much of this catch is unreported. It is directly targeted in Sri Lanka and India, and exported to international markets, especially China where the gill plates are highly-valued. Its low productivity causes it to be susceptible to rapid population declines. It is especially susceptible to exploitation (target and bycatch) in many largely unregulated gill net, longline and trawl fisheries that operate within its range outside and surrounding UAE waters. Some management measures are now in place in the Arabian Sea region, although domestic fisheries are likely to continue. Though data specifically from the UAE are not available, individuals in the UAE are a component of a larger, interconnected and migratory population that occurs broadly in the north-western Indian Ocean. It is inferred that declines reported in the Arabian Sea region are representative of its status in the UAE. There is no information to confirm that this species is breeding in the UAE and no information confirming the likelihood of a cease in immigration from outside the region, despite ongoing threats and recorded declines. Based on recorded levels of exploitation, it is suspected to have declined by 30-50% over the past three generation lengths, or about 60 years. It is listed as Vulnerable A2d.
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 specifics
IUCN v3.1
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.
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Threats listed in assessment
Information pertaining to threats specific to the UAE are unavailable. This species is impacted by target (for fins and their valuable meat) and bycatch fisheries that are active elsewhere in its range. Manta rays are easy to target because of their large size, slow swimming speed, aggregation behaviour and predictable habitat use.
Conservation Measures
Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:
Scientific Name | Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mobula mobular | Animalia | Chordata | Chondrichthyes | Myliobatiformes | Mobulidae | Mobula |