Taxon name
Echinorhinus brucus
(Bonnaterre, 1788)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Echinorhinus brucus
(Bonnaterre, 1788)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Bonnaterre, 1788)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Genetics studies have led some researchers to suspect that there may be an undescribed species of Echinorhinus off Oman and elsewhere in the Arabian Sea region (Henderson et al. 2016).
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)
A2d
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
In UAE waters, the Bramble Shark, a large deepsea species, occurs only in the Sea of Oman. There are no fisheries that take this species in UAE waters due to the lack of deepsea fisheries. It is exploited off southwest India and historically in the Maldives. Its limited biological productivity infers an overall susceptibility to rapid population decline. Though data specifically from the UAE are not available, and it is not known how individuals occupying the UAE are connected with the broader population of the Arabian Seas region, there is no information available to suggest that its population status differs in the UAE as compared to other parts of its range in the region. Given the threats faced by this species in other parts of the Arabian Seas region, and ongoing threats from discarding and habitat loss in the UAE, it is inferred that declines reported in the Arabian Seas are representative of the status in the UAE. Based on recorded levels of exploitation, it is suspected to have declined by at least 30% over the past three generation lengths, or about 90 years. It is listed as Vulnerable A2d.
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
The Bramble Shark occurs in UAE waters on the Sea of Oman coast. It is excluded from the Arabian Gulf (Javadzadeh et al. 2010, Jabado et al. 2014). Globally, it is widespread but patchy in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (al Sakaff and Esseen 1999, Henderson et al. 2007, Javadzadeh et al. 2010, Ebert et al. 2013, K.V. Akhilesh pers. obs.).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The Bramble Shark is a deepsea species that occurs primarily on continental and insular slopes at depths of 200-900 m, although it has been found as shallow as 18 m (usually in colder water) and as deep as 1,214 m (Kabasakal 2005, Ebert and Stehmann 2013). Examination of landings from Kochi Fisheries Harbour, Kerala, India, recorded a maximum size of 318 cm total length (TL); female maturity (L<sub>50</sub>) at 189 cm TL; male maturity at 187 cm TL; size at birth 42-46 cm TL (Akhilesh et al. 2013). Reproduction is viviparous with litter sizes of 10-36 pups (Akhilesh et al. 2013). Age data are not available for the species, but generation length is estimated as 30 years following Ferretti and Buscher (2015, 2016).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Information pertaining to threats specific to the UAE are unavailable. In the Arabian Seas region, the major threat to the Bramble Shark is the rapid expansion of deepsea fisheries off western India, including a targeted gulper shark (Centrophorus spp.) fishery, and a deepsea shrimp trawl fishery which takes the species as bycatch. As marine fish stocks from nearshore waters off India are heavily exploited, it is likely that fisheries will continue to expand into deeper water.
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.
