|Scientific Name:||Etelis carbunculus|
|Species Authority:||Cuvier, 1828|
Etelis marshi (Jenkins, 1903)
Eteliscus marshi Jenkins, 1903
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Data Deficient ver 3.1|
|Assessor(s):||Fry, G. & Newman, S.|
|Reviewer(s):||Collen, B., Richman, N., Beresford, A., Chenery, A. & Ram, M.|
|Contributor(s):||De Silva, R., Milligan, H., Lutz, M., Batchelor, A., Jopling, B., Kemp, K., Lewis, S., Lintott, P., Sears, J., Wilson, P. & Smith, J. and Livingston, F.|
Etelis carbunculus has been assessed as Data Deficient. This is a wide spread and abundant species, however this species is fished throughout much of its range where it is now reported to be undergoing some significant declines. This species is also taken as by-catch. However, there is not enough data from which to determine at what rate the global population is declining. Monitoring of the population trends and harvest levels of this species is needed before a more accurate assessment of conservation status can be made.
|Range Description:||The Ruby Snapper, Etelis carbunculus, is found throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is known from the coast of East Africa to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, across the Indo-pacific, north to Japan and south to Australia. In the Pacific its range extends to Hawaii, including French Polynesia. It has also been recorded from northern New Zealand (Francis et al. 1999) and out to both Christmas and Cocos Islands (S. Newman pers. comm. 2010).|
Native:American Samoa (American Samoa); Australia; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; Comoros; Cook Islands; Djibouti; Fiji; French Polynesia; Guam; Hong Kong; India (Andaman Is., Nicobar Is.); Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Japan; Kenya; Kiribati; Kuwait; Macao; Madagascar; Malaysia; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Mauritius; Micronesia, Federated States of ; Mozambique; Myanmar; Nauru; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Northern Mariana Islands; Oman; Pakistan; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Qatar; Réunion; Samoa; Saudi Arabia; Seychelles; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Somalia; Sri Lanka; Taiwan, Province of China; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Tokelau; Tonga; Tuvalu; United Arab Emirates; United States (Hawaiian Is.); United States Minor Outlying Islands; Vanuatu; Viet Nam; Wallis and Futuna; Yemen
|FAO Marine Fishing Areas:||
Indian Ocean – western; Indian Ocean – eastern; Pacific – eastern central; Pacific – northwest; Pacific – southwest; Pacific – western central
|Lower depth limit (metres):||400|
|Upper depth limit (metres):||90|
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
|Population:||There is no population information available for this species.|
|Current Population Trend:||Unknown|
|Habitat and Ecology:||The Ruby Snapper inhabits rocky bottoms on the continental shelf, and feeds on fishes and large invertebrates such as squids, shrimps and crabs. It also feeds on planktonic organisms (Haight et al. 1993). This demersal species is known from a depth range of 90-400 m and is known to occur in aggregations. At Vanuatu (New Hebrides) spawning occurs throughout much of the year, with a peak in activity around November (Allen 1985).|
|Generation Length (years):||13-15|
|Congregatory:||Congregatory (and dispersive)|
|Use and Trade:||
Species is harvested as food throughout the majority of its range.
In Kimbe, Manus and Oro bay, Rabaul CPUE efforts in the late nineties were 0.57-1.41kg/line hr(Chapman 1998) and 0.001-0.31kg/line hr respectively (Wellington and Cusack 1998).It is thought that the Australian and the Hawaiian parts of its range are heavily fished.
Ruby Snapper is an important food fish in some areas. It is mainly caught with bottom longlines and deep handlines, and is marketed fresh or frozen. It is one of the principal species in the Hawaiian offshore handline fishery. There are indications that some fish stocks on Hawaiian banks have been severely overfished (Haight et al. 1993). Fishery reports for the Hawaiian Islands indicate that the catch rates of E. carbunculus have declined steadily since the 1950s, and have dropped more steeply in the last 10-15 years. As the catch rates have dropped, so have the proportion of mature fish in the catches (DAR 2002).
The Hawaiian landings of this species have dropped from approximately 18,100 kg in 1998 to 10,900 kg in 2003. Moffitt (1980) noted that the CPUE(Catch per Unit Effort) was 0.06-0.08kg/line hr in the North West Hawaiian Islands. Over the last 40 to 50 years, partial CPUE has been reduced to half of what it once was (Hawaii's Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy 2005). This species is considered locally depleted in the middle Hawaiian Islands, whilst all bottomfish populations are considered 'relatively healthy in the North Western Hawaiian Islands (Hawaii's Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy 2005).
This species is also commercially fished in the Western Deepwater Trawl Fishery (WDWTF) in south-western Australia. This species has been intensely fished in this area and due to its aggregatory behaviour with preference for restricted continental shelf habitats, it is vulnerable to heavy fishing. As a result it is reported to be overfished in this area and the catch rates of this species are thought to have fallen (Hunter 2008).
In Kimbe, Manus and Oro bay, Rabaul CPUE efforts in the late nineties were 0.57-1.41kg/line hr(Chapman 1998) and 0.001-0.31kg/line hr respectively (Wellington and Cusack 1998).
This species is harvested throughout most of its distribution range. This species is mostly harvested using deep handlines and bottom longlines (Allen 1985).
There are no species specific conservation measures for Etelis carbunculus, however the distribution of this species may fall within numerous marine protected areas.
Monitoring of the harvest levels is needed with further research on the extent of the fishery. Conservation measures need to protect important spawning aggregations.
|Citation:||Fry, G. & Newman, S. 2010. Etelis carbunculus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T154999A4688739. . Downloaded on 24 May 2016.|
|Feedback:||If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided|