Taxon name
Caranx sexfasciatus
Quoy & Gaimard, 1825
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Caranx sexfasciatus
Quoy & Gaimard, 1825
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
Quoy & Gaimard, 1825
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 inshore, pelagic species is common on the eastern coast in UAE waters, but is not yet confirmed from the Gulf coast. Fishing activity is not expected to be causing population declines at this time. There are no known major threats; therefore, it is listed as Least Concern in the UAE.
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 (Allen and Robertson 1994, Smith-Vaniz 1995, Honebrink 2000).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species is mostly found over coral and rocky reef complexes as adults, but is known to move into inshore areas in sandy bays and lagoons in small numbers (Hamilton and Walter 1999). Juveniles inhabit more inshore, shallower waters around the coastlines, often venturing into lagoons, tidal flats, mangroves and estuaries (Whitfield and Harrison 2003, González Acost and De La Cruz Agüero 2004). It has also been observed well into the upper reaches of rivers (Allen et al. 2002). The species has been reported in pelagic open ocean settings, milling around stationary buoys (Fedoryako 1988). It also is known to be a schooling fish, with aggregations consisting of more than 1500 fish (Sala et al. 2003). Itsdiet consists of crustaceans and fishes (Chan et al. 1974). The maximum total length is 120 cm (Frimodt 1995). The mean length at first maturity (sex unknown) is 30 cm (Tharwat and Al-Gaber 2006).
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.
