Pastinachus ater, Cowtail Stingray. In: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T70682232A70708697

The Cowtail Stingray (Pastinachus ater) occurs across northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, West Papua, Indonesia, and parts of the Solomon Islands, where it lives in intertidal lagoons, reef flats and reef faces, sandy habitats and estuaries at depths of up to 60 m, although it prefers shallow water. This species is caught regularly in demersal tangle net, bottom trawl, longline, Danish seine and beach seine fisheries throughout its range. In the Arafura Sea, the Indonesian rhynchobatid fishery is very intensive and the level of exploitation is extremely high. Catches in inshore waters of the Arafura Sea have declined, and as a result these vessels have had to travel farther distances to sustain catches. This declining trend is likely to continue in future in the absence of management and because of continued, if not increasing, fishing effort. However, heavy fishing pressure in the Arafura Sea represents only a portion of this species' total range. It is considered common and the population appears to be healthy in northern Australia where fisheries are well-managed and effective gear modifications exclude large stingrays in prawn trawl fisheries. Furthermore, it occurs in some significant marine protected areas in Australian waters, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. On account of its status in Australian waters, which represents a large portion of its range, it is assessed as Least Concern

Himantura granulata, Mangrove Whipray. In: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T161431A68627924

This is an amended version of the 2015 assessment to accommodate the change in genus from Himantura to Urogymnus. The Mangrove Whipray (Urogymnus granulatus) is a large-bodied (to 141 cm disc width), uncommon stingray, with a widespread distribution in the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans, from Sri Lanka and eastern India, through to Indonesia. It also occurs along the northern coast of Australia and throughout some of the Pacific Islands. The species appears to prefer shallow inshore waters, including mangroves, estuaries, sand flats and broken rocky-sandy substrate, although adults may move offshore to at least 85 m depth. The species' preference for inshore habitats and the fact that it is apparently uncommon compared to other Himantura species, makes it particularly vulnerable to widespread and intensive artisanal and industrial fisheries operating throughout large areas of its range, as well as habitat destruction and pollution. Significant destruction and degradation of mangrove areas and targeting of juveniles in shallow waters are thought to have significantly affected this species. It is caught irregularly by tangle net, bottom trawl (including large numbers of trawlers targeting rhynchobatids in the Arafura Sea) and longline fisheries and retained for human consumption. Levels of exploitation are very high throughout its range in Southeast Asia and in many parts of the Indian Ocean, hence it is under a severe level of threat within most of this range. Although no species-specific data are available, overall catches of stingrays are reported to be declining in areas of Southeast Asia for which information is available, with fishermen having to travel further and further to sustain catch levels. Species that inhabit a similar habitat to this species (such as the Sicklefin Lemon Shark (Negaprion acutidens)) are now rarely observed in Indonesia due to high levels of exploitation, and significant declines are also inferred to have occurred in the Mangrove Whipray in Indonesia and other areas. Given the continuation of high levels of exploitation throughout its range in Southeast Asia where the species is caught in multiple types of fisheries, along with evidence for declines in catches of rays, the level of decline (>30% over the last three generations) and exploitation can be inferred from overall declines in fish catches in the region, as well as from habitat loss (in particular mangroves). In Australia, the Mangrove Whipray is considered at minimal threat throughout its wide range as there is no information to suggest that this species has declined in this area. Fisheries in northern Australia are generally well managed and the introduction of turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) have significantly reduced the bycatch of large stingrays. There are also significant marine protected areas in this species' range. This large species may have limiting life history characteristics that would make it biologically susceptible to depletion in fisheries and therefore, efforts should be made to assess and monitor mortality in fisheries and population trends throughout its range. The Mangrove Whipray is assessed as Vulnerable globally based on inferred levels of decline and exploitation across a large part of its range, but is considered to be Least Concern in Australia

Author Correction: Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks

An Amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.</p