Pastinachus ater | UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes
Taxa
Pastinachus ater | (Macleay, 1883)
Publication
Asessment status in full
Near Threatened
Assessment status abreviation
NT
Assessment status criteria
A2cd
Assessment rationale/justification
The Broad Cowtail Ray occurs throughout UAE coastal waters. The exact distribution is uncertain due to confusion amongst Pastinachus species and recent taxonomic changes. This species is not targeted or valued in markets of the UAE, trawling has been banned there since 1980 and recent surveys have detected it in the area. Cowtail rays are regularly discarded in the Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman. A large part of the species' regional distribution (namely, India and Pakistan) is under extremely intense and increasing demersal fishing pressure. It is not known how individuals occupying the UAE are connected with the broader population of the Arabian Seas region, and there is no information available to suggest that its population status differs in the UAE as compared to other parts of its range in the region. Given the threats faced by this species in other parts of the Arabian Seas region, and ongoing threats from discarding and habitat loss in the UAE, it is inferred that declines reported in the Arabian Seas are representative of the status in the UAE. Based on recorded levels of exploitation and decline in habitat quality, it is suspected to have declined by 20-30% over the past three generation lengths, or about 60 years. It is listed as Near Threatened, nearly meeting the thresholds for Vulnerable A2cd.
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 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.
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Threats listed in assessment
Information pertaining to threats specific to the UAE are unavailable. This species is impacted by bycatch fisheries that are active elsewhere in its range. Marine habitats in the Gulf are experiencing high levels of disturbance and quickly deteriorating due to major impacts from development activities (including dredging and reclamation), desalination plants, industrial activities, habitat destruction through the removal of shallow productive areas and major shipping lanes (Sheppard et al. 2010).
Conservation Measures
Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:
Scientific Name | Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pastinachus ater | Animalia | Chordata | Chondrichthyes | Myliobatiformes | Dasyatidae | Pastinachus |