Taxon name
Grampus griseus
(G. Cuvier, 1812)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Grampus griseus
(G. Cuvier, 1812)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Species authority
(G. Cuvier, 1812)
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
Although the species is said to be relatively common off the east coast, no information is available on population size or trends. There are also no data on threats to the species, hence it is assessed as Data Deficient. No regional adjustment is made to the Data Deficient assessment.
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.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
https://www.moccae.gov.ae/assets/download/b352eff1/UNRL%20of%20Mammals%20-%20Report%202019.pdf.aspx?view=true
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species generally lives in deep water and is apparently relatively common off the east coast of the UAE. There are no confirmed occurrences in the Arabian Gulf where the habitat is not suitable as this is a deep-water species (Baldwin 2005). Globally, this is a widely-distributed species, inhabiting deep waters of the continental slope and outer shelf, from the tropics through the temperate regions in both hemispheres (Taylor et al. 2012a).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This is a deep-water species, diving for squid and fish over underwater canyons and at the edge of the continental shelf to depths probably exceeding 1,000 m (Baldwin et al. 1999, Baldwin 2005).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
The main threats to cetaceans in UAE waters include: incidental mortality in trawl, drift and anchored gill nets, depletion of prey populations (due in part to commercial overfishing); ship and boat strikes, disturbance due to underwater noise (including that from vessel traffic, drilling, piling, military operations and seismic activity related to offshore oil and gas exploration). Inshore and shallow-water species are further potentially threatened by entanglement in abandoned fishing gear, coastal development including port and harbour construction, dredging, land reclamation, residential and tourist development, and pollution (especially hydrocarbons). A lack of information (e.g. population size and trend, the location of critical habitats, and feeding ecology) hinders the development of appropriate conservation actions, but this should be used as an excuse for inaction.
History
Hornby (1996) assessed the species as Near Threatened. It is not clear what criteria would have been used in 1996, but likely to have been assessed under criteria different than those currently applied by IUCN, and we consider that the species would also have been Data Deficient in 1996.
Publication
Mallon, D., Hilton-Taylor, C., Allen, D., & Harding, K. (2019). UAE National Red List of Mammals: Marine and Terrestrial. A report to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates (p. 41). IUCN Global Species Programme. https://bit.ly/2RdZCQR
