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NRLD - 329892 | Negaprion acutidens

Assessment ID
329892
Taxon name
Negaprion acutidens
(Rüppell, 1837)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Negaprion acutidens
(Rüppell, 1837)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
chordata
Class
chondrichthyes
Order
carcharhiniformes
Family
carcharhinidae
Genus
Negaprion
Species
acutidens
Species authority
(Rüppell, 1837)
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Endangered
Abbreviated status
EN
Qualifying criteria (if given)
A2cd
Criteria system used
IUCN

(see Assessment details)

Assessment rationale/justification
The Sharptooth Lemon Shark occurs throughout UAE inshore and offshore waters. In the UAE and neighboring countries, it is a minor component of shark landings, and may be relatively rarely occurring in the area. It is at risk from extensive fishing pressure by longline and gill net fisheries that operate throughout the Arabian Sea region. Extensive habitat degradation and loss due to coastal development in the Arabian Gulf region may also be impacting the species. 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 and decline in habitat quality, it is suspected to have declined by at least 50% over the past three generation lengths, or about 49 years. It is listed as Endangered A2cd.
Assessment details
Year assessed
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
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.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
The Sharptooth Lemon Shark occurs throughout UAE waters. Globally, it is widespread in the Indo-West and Central Pacific (Last and Stevens 2009).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Terrestrial
Not_assigned
Freshwater
Not_assigned
Marine
Yes
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The Sharptooth Lemon Shark occurs in shallow inshore and offshore waters near the bottom and is often found on and around coral reefs and on sandy plateaus near coral at depths to at least 30 m (Stevens 1984, Compagno 1998). It is also known to occur around and within the mangrove forests in certain areas of the UAE (Abu Dhabi) and Sudan (Suakin), which may be used as nursery grounds (Bonfil 2003, R. W. Jabado pers. comm. 06/02/2017). The maximum size reported is 340 cm total length (TL) with size at maturity around 220 cm TL for males and females (Compagno et al. 2005). The gestation period is recorded at 10 to 11 months, a reproductive periodicity of two years with a litter size average of 9.3 (6 to 12) and size at birth of 60 cm TL. Growth rates are reported at 12.5 to 15.5 cm per year. The generation length is suspected to be around 16.5 years, similar to that of the Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris), which reaches a similar maximum size (Brown and Gruber 1988).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
In the UAE, sharks have been impacted by targeted commercial fisheries until 2014 when a ban on export of sharks was imposed (Ministry of Climate Change and Environment). Sharks continue to be impacted by artisanal and bycatch fisheries (Annual Fisheries Statistical Report for Abu Dhabi Emirate 2001-2018), though catch data are not species-specific. Marine habitats in the region have experienced high levels of disturbance and are quickly deteriorating due to major impacts from development activities (Sheppard <em style=""font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2; text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px"">et al. 2010). 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).
Publication
Ralph, G.M., Stump, E., Linardich, C., Bullock, R.W., Carpenter, K.E., Allen D.J., Hilton-Taylor, C., Al Mheiri, R., and Alshamsi, O. 2021. UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes. 2021. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.