Rhynchobatus djiddensis | UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes
Taxa
Rhynchobatus djiddensis | (Forsskål, 1775)
Publication
Asessment status in full
Endangered
Assessment status abreviation
EN
Assessment status criteria
A2bcd
Assessment rationale/justification
The Whitespotted Wedgefish occurs throughout UAE coastal waters. There has been a total ban on fishing for this species in UAE waters since 2019. Confusion amongst the species of Rhynchobatus that occur in the Arabian Sea causes a high level of uncertainty when interpreting catch data as well as an understanding of the extent of this species' range. It is taken as bycatch in gill net, longline and trawl fisheries and its fins are highly valued in international trade. Coastal development is causing habitat degradation, which may also be impacting this species. Significant declines in wedgefish populations are known in India, southern Oman, Pakistan and Iran. 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, 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, landings data and decline in habitat quality, it is suspected to have declined by 50-80% over the past three generation lengths, or about 39 years. It is listed as Endangered A2bcd.
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
This species is impacted by target and bycatch fisheries in the UAE. It may also being impacted by habitat degradation due to coastal development, especially nursery grounds. 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.<em style=""font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia;""> 2010).
Conservation Measures
Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:
Scientific Name | Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhynchobatus djiddensis | Animalia | Chordata | Chondrichthyes | Rhinopristiformes | Rhinidae | Rhynchobatus |