Taxon name
Diagramma pictum
(Thunberg, 1792)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Diagramma pictum
(Thunberg, 1792)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Thunberg, 1792)
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
Qualifying criteria (if given)
A2bcd+4bcd
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species occurs throughout inshore waters of the UAE. It is targeted by commercial fisheries, and is considered overexploited in the UAE. Based on catch data and stock assessments, this species has undergone an inferred decline of at least 50% and possibly more over the past two generation lengths, or 14 years. With recent fisheries management measures implemented in Abu Dhabi, it is difficult to say whether fishing effort will continue to increase or decrease within the near future; however, effort in this fishery in surrounding Emirates where management measures are not stringent may increase or remain the same. Considering that other Emirates and surrounding countries that likely share this stock do not have management measures in place to reduce effort in the gargoor fishery, population declines are expected to continue. In addition, degradation of coastal habitats, especially for coral reefs is ongoing in the UAE and Arabian Gulf region. The population in UAE is inferred to have some level of connectivity with those in surrounding countries, and declines have been documented in Qatar and possibly Iran. It is listed as Endangered A2bcd+A4bcd.
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 (McKay 1984, Randall et al. 1997, McKay 2001, Seth and Sahoo 2014). Its depth range is 5-40 metres (Allen and Erdmann 2012).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This speciesinhabits shallow, coastal coral reefs and isolated coral heads of lagoons. It forms schools around isolated patch reefs. Juveniles generally occur in weedy areas (Smith and McKay 1986, Baillon and Kulbicki 1988, Wantiez and Kulbicki 1995). This species also occurs over mud, sand and silt bottoms in protected bays or estuaries, around outcrops, wreckage and debris (Kuiter and Tonozuka 2001, Allen and Erdmann 2012). It primarily consumes benthic invertebrates and fish (McKay 1984). The maximum fork length is 100 cm (Torres 1991). This species spawns between April to May and November in the southern Arabian Gulf (Grandcourt et al. 2006, 2011). Natural mortality was estimated at 0.13 year<sup>-1</sup> (Grandcourt et al. 2006). Estimated mean female fork length and age at first sexual maturity is 35.7 cm and 2.9 years for females and 26.7 cm and 0.5 years for males and longevity is about 11 years (Grandcourt et al. 2011). When applying an age at first reproduction of 3 years and longevity of 11 years, its estimated generation length is 7 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.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Overfishing is a major threat to this species in the UAE and off Qatar (Grandcourt et al. 2006). Coastal development in the UAE and Arabian Gulf region, which includes degradation of estuaries, may also impact this species. 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.
