In UAE waters, the Winghead Shark has only been confirmed from coastal waters on the Sea of Oman coast. No information on catch in the UAE is available, but it is taken in gill net, longline and bottom trawl fisheries in the Arabian Seas region. Anecdotal evidence from India and Pakistan suggests this species has drastically declined over the past 30-40 years. Furthermore, significant declines in landings of commercial shark species have been documented in the Arabian Sea region with other more abundant hammerhead species suspected to have declined by at least 50-80% over the past three generations. Although there are limited data on its status, other shark species in the Arabian Gulf have undergone significant declines due to exploitation. It is apparently highly migratory, and has slow life history characteristics including low fecundity and a low annual rate of population increase. Considering this, the species has a low capacity to recover from even moderate levels of exploitation. 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. Based on recorded levels of exploitation, it is suspected to have declined by at least 80% over the past three generation lengths, or about 42 years. It is listed as Critically Endangered A2d.