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IUCN SSC Snapper, Seabream and Grunt Specialist Group

IUCN COMMISSION GROUP

IUCN SSC Snapper, Seabream and Grunt Specialist Group

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Overview and description

Description:
This Specialist Group (SSG) works to advance the assessment of extinction risk and associated biological research on the over 550 reef and estuarine species in six families of marine fishes throughout ...
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This Specialist Group (SSG) works to advance the assessment of extinction risk and associated biological research on the over 550 reef and estuarine species in six families of marine fishes throughout tropical and warm - temperate areas of the globe. With partners, this work advances policy actions that can best sustain fisheries on these species and the diverse socio - economic systems they support.
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Group leadership

Dr Melita SAMOILYS

Co-Chair
Email: melita.samoilys@gmail.com
Melita is a co-Director of CORDIO East Africa, based in Kenya. She has worked in coral reef and fisheries research, management and conservation in East Africa, elsewhere in the Indian Ocean and also ...
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Melita is a co-Director of CORDIO East Africa, based in Kenya. She has worked in coral reef and fisheries research, management and conservation in East Africa, elsewhere in the Indian Ocean and also in the Pacific and Red Sea. She has contributed to marine protected areas and fisheries policy development in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia, Philippines, Australia, Fiji and Solomon Islands and globally. Melita was born in Tanzania, educated in Uganda, UK and Australia, and has lived in Kenya for 25 years. Her areas of experience include coral reef ecology particularly of fishes, marine protected areas, climate change, artisanal fisheries, community-based conservation and vulnerable species protection. She is a member of three IUCN Species Specialist Groups - Groupers and Wrasses, Shark (Vice Chair Africa), Snapper Seabream and Grunt (Co-Chair). She is an Associate Editor of the Royal Society Open Science Journal and on the Editorial Board of the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Journal. Melita’s MSc and PhD were from Queensland University and James Cook University in Australia. She is a Senior Research Associate University of Oxford, and Adjunct Academic Staff Pwani University, Kenya.
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Dr Kenyon LINDEMAN

Co-Chair
Email: lindeman@fit.edu

Ken is a Professor in the Sustainability Program, Dept. of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida. Conservation science and policy tools are used ...

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Ken is a Professor in the Sustainability Program, Dept. of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida. Conservation science and policy tools are used with partners to improve management of coastal systems affected by habitat loss, overfishing, climate change, and coastal land use. Over 75 peer-reviewed science and policy publications in over 20 journals and 10 book chapters. He has served on over 30 international through local advisory groups. He has co-authored/edited four books that integrate public, private, and non-profit work in the southeast U.S., western Atlantic:  Ecology of the Marine Fishes of Cuba, Smithsonian Institution Press; Living with Florida’s Atlantic Beaches, Duke Univ. Press; Designing Sustainable Urban Futures, Karlsruhe Institute Publishing; and Islands in the Sand: Ecology and Management of Nearshore Hardbottom Reefs of East Florida, Springer Press. He manages one of the few Bachelors of Science programs in Sustainability in the southern U.S., >160 graduates with the major or minor, 2010-2022. Senior research projects have ranged from sustainability internships with coastal cities to fishery bycatch research. Ph.D., Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami.

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Steering Committee of the Snapper, Seabream and Grunt Specialist Group

  • Dr Barry Russell, Red List Authority, Museum & Art Gallery of the N. Territory, Darwin, Australia
  • Dr Annadel Cabanban, Conservation International, Manilla, Philippines
  • Winston Cowie, Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi, UAE
  • Dr Kafayat Fakoya, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria
  • Dr Rekha Nair, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, India
  • Dr Stephen Newman, Dept. Primary Industries & Regional Development, Perth, Australia
  • Dr Ewusie Kofi Francis Nunoo, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
  • Dr Jose Tavera Vargas, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
  • Dr Monica Valle, Marine Resources Assessment Group, Florida, USA

More about the Specialist Group

Hundreds of species of snappers, seabreams, grunts, threadfin breams, emperors and fusiliers inhabit tropical and warm temperate coastal regions, providing billions of dollars in seafood and other ecosystem services on coral reefs and in estuaries. However, many species are subject to heavy fishing mortality as well as habitat loss and potential effects of climate change. Management is further complicated by identification challenges, a common absence of species-specific fishery data, and still-changing species and genus names.

The SSG SG is a large group of scientific and management experts working in over 30 countries to achieve sustainable use of these diverse coastal fishes through the processing of complex taxonomic and phylogenetic challenges, population assessment research, and policy actions that engage communities in decision-making. This work takes many forms, for example: completing the first IUCN Red List assessments of over 550 species, and determining bycatch impacts in select regions.

Key features

  • they can inhabit almost every estuarine and coastal marine habitat in shallow tropical through temperate areas of the globe 
  • they are some of the most iconic coastal fisheries on the planet: many species are sold as “red snapper” and several hundred others are also caught for food
  • they are taken by diverse fishing gears including various types of traps, nets, longlines, spears, hook and line, and trawls
  • evidence suggests many species are subject to heavy fishing pressure, habitat loss, and ...
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  • they can inhabit almost every estuarine and coastal marine habitat in shallow tropical through temperate areas of the globe 
  • they are some of the most iconic coastal fisheries on the planet: many species are sold as “red snapper” and several hundred others are also caught for food
  • they are taken by diverse fishing gears including various types of traps, nets, longlines, spears, hook and line, and trawls
  • evidence suggests many species are subject to heavy fishing pressure, habitat loss, and potential climate change effects
  • conservation planning and actions have focused in part on protecting the spawning aggregations of heavily fished species, as well as potential nursery habitats used by early life history stages. 
  • as of Oct 2022, approx. 86% of the estimated 551 SSG SG species have been assessed by the SSG SG and partners, and 82.5% published on the IUCN Red List.
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The July 2023 Red List total of all species are in the adjacent SSG Species Table.

 
Phylogenetic information on some taxa within these families is not fully resolved.

The numbers provided are estimates based on the latest information.
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Image credits:
-  Dentex hypselosomus Bleeker, 1854, Yellowback sea-bream, Japan. Image: Masato Shiina, Uwajima Fisheries High School, Japan.
-  Anisotremus surinamensis, (Bloch, 1791), Black Margate, W. Atlantic. Image: S. Atl. Fish. Management Council.
-  Lutjanus guilcheri, Fourmanoir, 1959, Yellowfin red snapper, Indian Ocean. Image: FAO.
-  Nemipterus bathybius, Snyder, 1911, Yellowbelly threadfin bream, Western Pacific. Image: Chinese Academy of Fisheries Sciences, Information Center.
-  Lethrinus conchyliatus, (Smith, 1959), Red-axil emperor, Indo-West Pacific. Painting: R. Swainston, courtesy of FAO.
-  Pterocaesio capricornis, Smith & Smith, 1963, Capricorn fusilier, Western Indian Ocean. Painting: P. Lastrico, courtesy of FAO.

Specialist Group work

The Snapper, Seabream and Grunt Specialist Group (SSG SG) has 18 targets within the IUCN 2021-24 quadrennium. The highest priority target areas include:  Red List assessments of species from six coastal fish families; applied Policy Actions to sustain populations and species.

Red Listing of over 550 Coastal Fish Species

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To inform conservation efforts, many experts have worked with the SSG SG to assess species extinction risk for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. With over 400 species completed, we are focused on completing the last 18% of species to finish the first-ever assessment of all species.

Conservation Through Bycatch Reduction, Spawning Site Protection and Other Priorities

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Species conservation findings are applied to priorities including regional by-catch reduction, protection of SSG spawning aggregation sites using research and training, applications of fishers’ knowledge, regional identification guides, and other priorities.

Applied Policy Actions to Sustain Populations and Species

To apply results from species Red List assessments and related research, we engage with diverse partners including universities, governments, fishers, and non-profits. We are expanding our website and other communication outlets to advance best practices in fishing and habitat management.

2022 SSG SG Annual Report

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Learn about SSG’s work and results in 2022.

2022 SSG SG Annual Report

Previous reports:
2021 SSG SG Annual Report
2020 SSG SG Annual Report
2019 SSG SG Annual Report 
2018 SSG SG Annual Report
2016-2017 SSG SG Annual Report

At a glance

Official name:
IUCN SSC Snapper, Seabream and Grunt Specialist Group
Associated Commissions:
Species Survival Commission
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