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

Taxa
Negaprion acutidens | (Rüppell, 1837)
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
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
The Sharptooth Lemon Shark occurs throughout UAE waters. Globally, it is widespread in the Indo-West and Central Pacific (Last and Stevens 2009).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
Yes
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The Sharptooth Lemon Shark occurs in shallow inshore and offshore waters near the bottom and is often found on and around coral reefs and on sandy plateaus near coral at depths to at least 30 m (Stevens 1984, Compagno 1998). It is also known to occur around and within the mangrove forests in certain areas of the UAE (Abu Dhabi) and Sudan (Suakin), which may be used as nursery grounds (Bonfil 2003, R. W. Jabado pers. comm. 06/02/2017). The maximum size reported is 340 cm total length (TL) with size at maturity around 220 cm TL for males and females (Compagno et al. 2005). The gestation period is recorded at 10 to 11 months, a reproductive periodicity of two years with a litter size average of 9.3 (6 to 12) and size at birth of 60 cm TL. Growth rates are reported at 12.5 to 15.5 cm per year. The generation length is suspected to be around 16.5 years, similar to that of the Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris), which reaches a similar maximum size (Brown and Gruber 1988).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Endangered
Assessment status abreviation
EN
Assessment status criteria
A2cd
Assessment rationale/justification
The Sharptooth Lemon Shark occurs throughout UAE inshore and offshore waters. In the UAE and neighboring countries, it is a minor component of shark landings, and may be relatively rarely occurring in the area. It is at risk from extensive fishing pressure by longline and gill net fisheries that operate throughout the Arabian Sea region. Extensive habitat degradation and loss due to coastal development in the Arabian Gulf region may also be impacting the species. It is apparently highly migratory, and has slow life history characteristics including low fecundity and a low annual rate of population increase. Considering this, the species has a low capacity to recover from even moderate levels of exploitation. It is especially susceptible to exploitation (target and bycatch) in many largely unregulated gill net, longline and trawl fisheries that operate within its range outside and surrounding UAE waters. Some management measures are now in place in the Arabian Sea region, although domestic fisheries are likely to continue. Though data specifically from the UAE are not available, individuals in the UAE are a component of a larger, interconnected and migratory population that occurs broadly in the north-western Indian Ocean. It is inferred that declines reported in the Arabian Sea region are representative of its status in the UAE. Based on recorded levels of exploitation and decline in habitat quality, it is suspected to have declined by at least 50% over the past three generation lengths, or about 49 years. It is listed as Endangered A2cd.
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
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
In the UAE, sharks have been impacted by targeted commercial fisheries until 2014 when a ban on export of sharks was imposed (Ministry of Climate Change and Environment). Sharks continue to be impacted by artisanal and bycatch fisheries (Annual Fisheries Statistical Report for Abu Dhabi Emirate 2001-2018), though catch data are not species-specific. Marine habitats in the region have experienced high levels of disturbance and are quickly deteriorating due to major impacts from development activities (Sheppard <em style=""font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2; text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px"">et al. 2010). 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
Negaprion acutidens Animalia Chordata Chondrichthyes Carcharhiniformes Carcharhinidae Negaprion