Moolgarda cunnesius | UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes

Taxa

Moolgarda cunnesius | (Valenciennes, 1836)

Publication

UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes

Location

Countries in Assessment

United Arab Emirates

Country ISO code(s)

ARE

Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?

Off

Scope (Assessment)

National

Taxon

Taxonomic Group

Vertebrates

Taxonomic Group Level 2

Fishes

Assessed taxon level

Species

Taxonomic Notes

The taxonomy of species in the Mugilidae family is complex and under revision (Durand and Borsa 2015). According to Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes, this species is now considered valid as Moolgarda cunnesius.

Taxon distribution as listed in assessment

This species occurs throughout UAE waters (Carpenter et al. 1997b, Jawad et al. 2018). Elsewhere, it is widespread in the Indo-Pacific. Its depth range is 0-3 metres, but has been recorded to 42 m (Jawad et al. 2018).

Habitats and Ecology

Ecological system type

Terrestrial system

Freshwater system

Marine system

Yes

Habitat

Habitat details as listed in assessment

This species inhabits inshore marine, brackish and freshwater areas, including coral reefs, mangroves and estuaries (Khatoon et al. 2014, Kamrani et al. 2016, Jawad et al. 2018). Its maximum length is 14 cm (Carpenter et al. 1997b).

Is there a map available in assessment?

Yes

Assessed status

Asessment status in full

Data deficient

Assessment status abreviation

Assessment rationale/justification

This inshore species occurs throughout UAE waters. It is exploited throughout the UAE, but species-specific catch data are not collected. It comprises a smaller proportion of the mullet catch than Crenimugil seheli, but catch in that fishery declined by about 80% over the past 11 years. Fishing effort trends are not well-understood. It is also exploited in areas neighbouring the UAE. In addition, the difficulty in distinguishing the mullet species taxonomically and easy confusion with other mullet species in the catch prevents an understanding of their status. Based on the uncertainty in the status of its population in the UAE, and concerns for possible over-exploitation, it is listed as Data Deficient. Improvements in fisheries monitoring are needed.

About the assessment

Assessment year

2019

Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed

UAE National Red List Workshop

Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment

Government

IGO

Assessor affiliation specific

Government|IGO

Criteria system

Criteria system specifics

IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0

Criteria system used

IUCN

Criteria Citation

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.

Endemism

Endemic to region

Not_assigned

Endemism Notes

Is an endemic?: Not_assigned

Conservation

Threats listed in assessment

Overfishing is a potential major threat to this species in the UAE and surrounding areas. In addition, estuaries and nearshore habitats have been seriously degraded in the Arabian Gulf 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).

Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Scientific Name	Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family	Genus
Moolgarda cunnesius	Animalia	Chordata	Actinopterygii	Mugiliformes	Mugilidae	Moolgarda