IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
DD
Data Deficient
Red List Criteria
Version
3.1
Year Assessed
2009
Assessor/s
Nakaya, K. & McCormack, C.
Reviewer/s
Valenti, S.V., Stevens, J., Fowler, S.L. & SSG Asia Northwest Pacific Red List Workshop participants (Shark Red List Authority)
Contributor/s
Justification
The Japanese Catshark (Apristurus japonicus) is distributed from Fukushima to Chiba Prefecture on the Pacific coast of northern Japan, at depths of 600–800 m. The species has a limited range and very little is known of its biology. The Japanese Catshark is taken as bycatch by bottom trawl and gillnet fisheries but no data are available on catches or population trends. It cannot be assessed beyond Data Deficient due to a lack of information; however its limited range and potentially vulnerable life-history characteristics are of concern. It is possible that declines have already occurred and this species may qualify for a threatened category in the future. Bycatch levels should be quantified and this assessment should be revisited in the near term.
