Taxon name
Atule mate
(Cuvier, 1833)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Atule mate
(Cuvier, 1833)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Cuvier, 1833)
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
Data deficient
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This inshore, pelagic speciesis common throughout UAE waters and is taken in fisheries. Catch on the eastern coast has declined significantly over at least the past decade or more. Catch in Abu Dhabi declined by 91% over the past 13 years, but this decline is expected to be caused at least partially by reduced fishing effort. A stock assessment conducted in 2012 for Abu Dhabi did not consider it overexploited at that time, and an update to the stock assessment was not able to be completed due to the lack of individuals available at the market to sample. It is taken in fisheries elsewhere in the Gulf and Sea of Oman region as well. Due to the potential major threat from overfishing and the very poor understanding of its population status in the UAE, it is listed as Data Deficient.
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. Globally, it is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific (Smith-Vaniz 1984, Gushiken 1984, Paxton et al. 1989, Graham and Wood 1997). The depth range is 1 to 80 m (Mundy 2005).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This speciesforms schools in coastal waters, including bays, mangroves, estuaries and mud flats (Paxton et al. 1989). It is occasionally observed near reefs and can form very large seasonal aggregations (Carpenter et al. 1997a). The maximum total length is 30 cm (Smith-Vaniz 1984) and the size at first maturity is about 17 cm (Kasim 2003).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Fishing activity is not known to be driving declines 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.
