Taxon name
Siganus canaliculatus
(Park, 1797)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Siganus canaliculatus
(Park, 1797)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Park, 1797)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
There is some uncertainty about the taxonomic validity of Siganus fuscescens versus S. canaliculatus.
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)
A2bd
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This coastal species occurs throughout UAE waters. It is targeted by commercial fisheries in the UAE and elsewhere in the Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman. Stock assessments conducted for Abu Dhabi in 2004, 2013 and 2018 considered this species overexploited. Catch in Abu Dhabi declined by 75% since at least 2006, or over the past 13 years. Its population status in areas neighboring the UAE is not known, but it is heavily exploited elsewhere as well. Based on catch data and stock assessments, it is inferred this species has undergone a decline of at least 70% over the past three generation lengths, or 15 years. It is listed as Endangered A2bd.
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, itis widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific (Woodland 1984, 2001). Its depth range is about 0-50 m (Woodland 2001).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species schools in shallow, coastal waters to 40 m depth (Woodland 1984). It usually observed on rocky and sandy seaweed bottoms (Carpenter et al. 1997a), in and around the mouths of rivers in turbulent waters (Woodland 2001), and on hard-bottom structures (E. Abdulqader pers. comm. 2014). School size decreases with age, and juveniles often occur in very large schools in shallow bays and coral reef flats. This species feeds by scraping algae from rocks and corals, and to a lesser extent on seagrasses (Woodland 1984, 2001). The maximum total length is 30 cm (Randall 1995). Spawning appears to be synchronized with the lunar cycle and it is a multiple spawner (Hoque et al. 1999). Longevity is estimated as 7.8 years off UAE and mean size and age at first sexual maturity are 21.5 cm fork length and 1.9 years for males and 25.7 cm and 2.1 years for females (Grandcourt et al. 2007). When applying an age at first reproduction of 2 years and longevity of 8 years, its estimated generation length is 5 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 (Grandcourt et al. 2014). A study conducted off Bahrain on this species found it to be susceptible to mass mortality events due to Streptococcus iniae bacterial infections (Yuasa et al. 1999). The pervasive level of coastal development within the UAE and Arabian Gulf region has degraded inshore habitats that this species utilizes. 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.
