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

Taxa
Sphyraena barracuda | (Edwards, 1771)
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 nearly circumglobally distributed in tropical to warm temperate waters, but does not occur in the eastern Pacific (Carpenter et al. 1997b, Russell 2002, Simon et al. 2013, Friedlander et al. 2014, Wirtz et al. 2014). It occurs mainly at the surface, but can be found to 100 m depth (Russell 2016).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
Yes
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This pelagic species is found on shallow reefs and deep reefs to the shelf-edge (Feitoza et al. 2005). Juveniles school in shallow waters over sandy, weedy bottoms and in mangroves. Young barracuda will spend their first summer in shallow nursery areas and move offshore to deeper water in late fall. In the second summer, young enter mangrove habitat or deeper weed beds. In its third year, it enters coral reef habitat (de Sylva 1963). Larger adults (>65cm standard length) are usually solitary and found over reef areas and offshore waters. Large schools have been observed and are probably associated with spawning behavior. Its maximum length is 200 cm (Robins and Ray 1986). It feeds mainly on littoral schooling and coral reef fishes, cephalopods, and shrimps (de Sylva 1981, Cervigon 1993). It can reach at least 14 years of age. Males mature by year three, and females by year four. Off Abu Dhabi, the mean age and size at sexual maturity for males was 1.3 years and 56.2 cm and 2.6 years and 80.1 cm for females (Grandcourt et al. 2012). When applying an age at first reproduction of 2.5 years and longevity of 14 years, its estimated generation length is 8.25 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 pelagic, coastal species occurs throughout UAE waters. Catch in Abu Dhabi has declined by 96% since 2011, and the cause of this decline is not known. Due to concerns for its population status, it is listed as Data Deficient in the UAE. Studies are needed to estimate life history parameters (age at sexual maturity and longevity) to calculate generation length. Improvements in fisheries management is also 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
Overfishing is a potential major threat. 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
Sphyraena barracuda Animalia Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Sphyraenidae Sphyraena