Taxon name
Plectorhinchus gaterinus
(Forsskål, 1775)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Plectorhinchus gaterinus
(Forsskål, 1775)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Fishes
Species authority
(Forsskål, 1775)
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
This demersal, reef-associated species occurs throughout UAE waters. It is a relatively minor component of fisheries that target grunts in the UAE. A 2010 stock assessment considered it to be sustainably fished in Abu Dhabi at that time; however, catch declined by about 90% since 2007 in Abu Dhabi, and catch has also declined significantly on the eastern coast. The status of population(s) outside the UAE is not well-understood, though declines in grunt stocks have been reported in Iran. Based on the uncertainty regarding the population trend of this exploited species, it is listed as Data Deficient in UAE waters. Improvements in fisheries monitoring are needed.
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 Western Indian Ocean (McKay 1984, Randall 1995, Letourneur et al. 2004, Fricke et al. 2013, Psomadakis et al. 2015). Its depth range is 5-55 m (Corsini-Foka and Sarlis 2016).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This demersal species forms schools over coral reefs (Carpenter et al. 1997a). Juveniles also occur in seagrass beds (Gell and Whittington 2002). It primarily consumes small fish and crustaceans (Tharwat and Al-Gaber 2006). The maximum total length is 50 cm (McKay 1984). A spawning aggregation has been observed at an inshore reef off Qit'at Uraifjan, Kuwait (Carpenter et al. 1997a). A study conducted off the coast of Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the UAE, determined the mean age and size at sexual maturity for males and females was 3 years and 28 cm and 4 years and 29 cm, respectively, and the maximum age was 21 years (Grandcourt et al. 2010). When applying an age at first reproduction of 4 years and longevity of 21 years, its estimated generation length is 12.5 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 potential major threat to this species in the Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman region. 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.
