Taxon name
Epinephelus stoliczkae
(Day, 1875)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Epinephelus stoliczkae
(Day, 1875)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Day, 1875)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
This species can be confused with Epinephelus rivulatus, which is superficially similar.
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)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Least Concern
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This reef-associated species occurs throughout UAE waters. It is naturally uncommon on the Arabian Gulf coast, but common on the eastern coast. It is regularly taken in grouper fisheries on the eastern coast, and anecdotal information indicates it is declining slightly each year over the past decade in fish markets there. Exploitation is not considered to be driving declines approaching a Near Threatened or threatened level at this time; therefore, it is listed as Least Concern in the UAE. It is recommended to improve fisheries monitoring for this species.
Assessment details
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
This species occurs throughout UAE waters (F. Yaghmour and J. Burt pers. comm. 2019). Globally, it has a tropical to subtropical (~10 to 30'°N) continental distribution from the Red Sea, and the northwest Indian Ocean to Pakistan. It was recently reported from Iraq (Almukhtar et al. 2012). Its depth range is 5-50 metres.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species generally occurs on shallow sandy bottoms near rocks or small coral heads, but is not known from well-developed coral reefs. Its maximum total length is about 38 cm.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Overfishing is not considered to be driving declines approaching a Near Threatened or threatened level in the UAE at this time. 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.
