Plectorhinchus gaterinus | UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes
Taxa
Plectorhinchus gaterinus | (Forsskål, 1775)
Location
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 Western Indian Ocean (McKay 1984, Randall 1995, Letourneur et al. 2004, Fricke et al. 2013, Psomadakis et al. 2015). Its depth range is 5-55 m (Corsini-Foka and Sarlis 2016).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This demersal species forms schools over coral reefs (Carpenter et al. 1997a). Juveniles also occur in seagrass beds (Gell and Whittington 2002). It primarily consumes small fish and crustaceans (Tharwat and Al-Gaber 2006). The maximum total length is 50 cm (McKay 1984). A spawning aggregation has been observed at an inshore reef off Qit'at Uraifjan, Kuwait (Carpenter et al. 1997a). A study conducted off the coast of Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the UAE, determined the mean age and size at sexual maturity for males and females was 3 years and 28 cm and 4 years and 29 cm, respectively, and the maximum age was 21 years (Grandcourt et al. 2010). When applying an age at first reproduction of 4 years and longevity of 21 years, its estimated generation length is 12.5 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 demersal, reef-associated species occurs throughout UAE waters. It is a relatively minor component of fisheries that target grunts in the UAE. A 2010 stock assessment considered it to be sustainably fished in Abu Dhabi at that time; however, catch declined by about 90% since 2007 in Abu Dhabi, and catch has also declined significantly on the eastern coast. The status of population(s) outside the UAE is not well-understood, though declines in grunt stocks have been reported in Iran. Based on the uncertainty regarding the population trend of this exploited species, it is listed as Data Deficient in UAE waters. Improvements in fisheries monitoring are needed.
About the assessment
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
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
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
Threats listed in assessment
Overfishing is a potential major threat to this species in the Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman region. 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:
Scientific Name
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Plectorhinchus gaterinus
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Perciformes
Haemulidae
Plectorhinchus
