Rhincodon typus | UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes
Taxa
Rhincodon typus | Smith, 1828
Publication
Asessment status in full
Endangered
Assessment status abreviation
EN
Assessment status criteria
A2d
Assessment rationale/justification
The Whale Shark occurs throughout UAE pelagic and coastal waters, and conducts seasonal migrations. Capture of this species is totally banned in the UAE. It is taken as bycatch in gill net fisheries in the UAE, but is not particularly valued there. It may be impacted by vessel strikes, especially in the vicinity of busy shipping lanes in the Gulf. Elsewhere, where it has been historically exploited, large-scale declines have occurred (e.g., India, the Maldives). Protective measures are in place, and directed fisheries mostly no longer exist, though the species is retained when taken as bycatch. It exhibits 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 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, it is suspected to have declined by 50-80% over the past three generation lengths, or about 75 years. It is listed as Endangered A2d.
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
The major threats to the Whale Shark include fisheries (both directed and incidental) and vessel strikes. Where shipping lanes are located close to Whale Shark feeding areas, vessel strikes are more common (Motta et al. 2010, Gleiss et al. 2013). Propeller injuries are commonly recorded during monitoring programs (Rowat et al. 2006, Speed et al. 2008, Fox et al. 2013). Areas where Whale Sharks appear to be at particular risk include the Gulf waters, where a high frequency of serious propeller injuries are observed during monitoring (D. Robinson unpubl. data). Coastal development may be particularly problematic in the Gulf region as Whale Sharks can be attracted to and become entrapped in ports and suffer from extended exposure to warm temperatures (D. Robinson pers. obs.).
Conservation Measures
Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:
Scientific Name | Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhincodon typus | Animalia | Chordata | Chondrichthyes | Orectolobiformes | Rhincodontidae | Rhincodon |