Aetobatus ocellatus was previously considered to be an Indo-West and Central Pacific form of the wider ranging Aetobatus narinari. Comparative analysis has resulted in the re-description of A. ocellatus from the Indian Ocean and West-Central Pacific Ocean with A. narinari being restricted to the Atlantic Ocean (Richards et al. 2009, White et al. 2010). Molecular analyses suggest greater levels of speciation within the Aetobatus genus, with distinguishable groups in the Western Indian Ocean and Northwest Pacific (Schluessel et al. 2010, White et al. 2010). Samples from Qatar cluster separately—designated as A. cf. ocellatus 2 (D. Ebert pers. comm. 2017). This requires further examination to delineate species boundaries.

The Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus ocellatus) is a large ray (to at least 300 cm disc width) known from a widespread distribution through the Indo-West and Central Pacific Oceans, from South Africa to Japan and the Hawaiian Islands. It has been recorded in tropical and warm-temperate waters in coastal regions and over the continental shelf from the surface to 40 m depth. There is no species-specific information on population size. The species is highly susceptible to capture in a variety of fishing methods in regions where the level of exploitation of marine resources is intense and increasing. The Spotted Eagle Ray is likely to have some refuge in Australian waters and around the Pacific Islands where there are few threats. However, its large size, presumed limited biological productivity similar to other myliobatid rays (including a low fecundity), and preference for coastal habitats increases the species' risk to capture and overexploitation from fisheries. Eagle rays are retained for human consumption, fish meal, and in some regions (e.g., Indonesia), eagle ray meat is preferred and more valuable than that of other rays. The species is also threatened by habitat loss and environmental degradation. The Spotted Eagle Ray is suspected and inferred to have undergone a population reduction of 50–79% over the past three generation lengths (39 years) based on actual levels of exploitation and documented declines, and habitat quality decline, and it is assessed as Endangered A2bcd.

The Spotted Eagle Ray has a widespread distribution through the Indo-West and Central Pacific Ocean, from South Africa to Japan and the Hawaiian Islands (Last et al. 2016). Since the previous assessment (Kyne et al. 2016), the distribution map has been refined to map this species to its known bathymetric range.

There is no species-specific information available on population size. Molecular analysis of mitochondrial markers in the Indo-West Pacific showed considerable population structure between three main regions sampled (East China Sea, Southeast Asia, and Australia) (Schluessel et al. 2010).

There is evidence of population reduction of sharks and rays across the range of the Spotted Eagle Ray. Reconstructed catch data of sharks, rays and skates can be inferred to represent reductions in their populations, as fishing effort has increased substantially since the 1950s and continued to increase as landings declined (Teh et al. 2014, Pauly et al. 2020). In China, reconstructed data showed a 67% decline in landings, from around 90,000 tonnes (t) in 1950 to around 30,000 t in 2014 (Zeller and Pauly 2016). Across the Malaysia Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), reconstructed landings showed declines of 30–54% from 1979 to 2014, with a peak in most regional catches by the late 1990s, which subsequently declined (Pauly et al. 2020). The species has been commonly observed in landings from coastal fisheries in Taiwanese waters (Ebert et al. 2013), where the catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) for all rays has remained stable over 17 years, i.e., 1997–2013 (H. Hsu, Taiwan National Fisheries Statistics pers. comm. 2019). In Thailand, combined ray species landings data showed an 89% reduction over 16 years from 2003 to 2018 (Krajangdara 2019), although inferring a population trend is difficult as the decline in catches from 2003 to 2018 coincided with a decline in fishing effort. In Indonesia, shark and ray landings rapidly increased from the 1970s to 2000, and have remained relatively steady at about 90,000–120,000 t annually between 2005 and 2014 (Prasetyo et al. 2021). Research survey data from 1976 to 1997 shows a ~ 50% decline in ray CPUE from 1976–1997 throughout the Java Sea (Blaber et al. 2009).

In the Arabian Seas region, the Spotted Eagle Ray was recorded during market surveys and underwater video surveys in small numbers throughout countries surrounding the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the Gulf of Oman (e.g., Moore et al. 2012, Spaet and Berumen 2015, Garzon et al. 2022, Rezaie-Atagholipour unpub. data). For example, only two specimens were recorded in over 10 years of market surveys in Sudan (I. Elhassan pers. comm. 2017). The species is infrequently recorded at landing sites across India (e.g., Swatipriyanka et al. 2018, Kottillil et al. 2022). In Pakistan, this is one of the most common eagle rays and is caught by pelagic gillnet fisheries; however, compared to the 1970s, it is now considered rare (M. Khan pers. comm. 2023). Populations of myliobatid rays in general are declining in the region, especially in India and Pakistan where there is an overall decline in batoids from intense fishing (e.g., Raje and Zacharia 2009). For example, the annual average catch of rays landed by trawlers at New Ferry Wharf, Mumbai, between 1990 and 2004 was 502 t. During this period trawler hours doubled, and consequently, the catch rate declined by 60% from 0.65 kg/hr in 1990 to 0.24 kg/hr in 2004 (Raje and Zacharia 2009). The same study showed a similar (63%) decline in landings of the Spotted Eagle Ray (as A. narinari), which is equivalent to a 94% decline over three generation lengths (39 years).

The Spotted Eagle Ray is caught and landed in fisheries operating throughout the Western Indian Ocean where regional fishing pressure is intense and largely unmanaged (Temple et al. 2018, Temple et al. 2019, Nevill 2019). Catches are not often reported to species level, but myliobatids, including the Spotted Eagle Ray, are commonly landed. From 1990 to 2019, the western Indian Ocean accounted for the third highest reported chondrichthyan catch levels globally, with Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar contributing to 20% of the total regional chondrichthyan catch (FAO 2021, Bennett et al. 2023). Despite more widespread monitoring and improved reporting throughout the region, chondrichthyan catches have declined considerably during that time period, from a peak of 180,000 t in 1996 to an annual average of 87,763 t between 2009 and 2019 (FAO 2021, Kiszka and van der Elst 2015). The reason for this decline is unclear, and could be attributed to several factors, including reduced targeting due to stricter regulations, reduced catch reporting, trade controls, or actual population declines. Nonetheless, substantial increased fishing intensity and prominent declines in marine fisheries resources have been reported across the region. For example, in Tanzania, reconstructed marine fisheries catch gradually increased from 18,100 t per year in 1950 to 114,600 t per year in 2010, with notable declines in catch in the early 1980s and mid-1990s (Bultel et al. 2015). Marine fisheries catch rates in Kenya’s small-scale coral reef fisheries declined 4-fold from the mid-1980s to 2007 (Samoilys et al. 2017). Finally, across the Mozambique Channel (including Union of Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Mozambique) small-scale fishing effort increased nearly 60 times while overall marine fisheries CPUE declined by 91% across the region between 1950 and 2016; much of this decline was observed in earlier decades, driven by motorization and growth in vessel numbers (Zeller et al. 2021).

The Spotted Eagle Ray will have some refuge in the eastern part of its range, including Australian waters and the Pacific Islands, where there are few threats. Overall, considering the level of intense and largely unmanaged fisheries that operate throughout most of its range, declining catch trends, and noted significant declines in eagle rays in general in several parts of its range, the Spotted Eagle Ray is suspected and inferred to have undergone a population reduction of 50–79% over the past three generation lengths (39 years) based on actual levels of exploitation and documented declines, and a decline in habitat quality. Thus, the species is assessed as Endangered A2bcd.

The Spotted Eagle Ray is epipelagic and found in tropical and warm-temperate waters in coastal regions and over the continental shelf from the surface to 40 m depth, and possibly 90 m (Weigmann 2016). It sometimes enters lagoons and estuaries, is often associated with coral reef ecosystems, and may also be encountered well offshore in open water (Last and Stevens 2009, Last et al. 2010). It reaches a maximum size of at least 300 cm disc width (DW) (Weigmann 2016). Males mature at 100–130 cm DW, females mature at ~150–160 cm DW, and size-at-birth is highly variable, from 18–50 cm DW (Last et al. 2016). Reproduction is viviparous with low litter sizes (up to 10 pups but usually no more than four pups). Gestation has been reported at 12 months and reproductive periodicity may not be annual (Schluessel et al. 2010). There is no information on this species' age-at-maturity and maximum age; hence, generation length was inferred based on its congeners. Age at maturity is estimated as 5–8 years based on the Naru Eagle Ray (A. narutobiei, to 290 cm DW) and maximum age estimated as 20 years based on the Whitespotted Eagle Ray (A. narinari, to 230 cm DW). When scaled to size, this results in a generation length of 13 years (Yamaguchi et al. 2021, Boggio-Pasqua et al. 2022).

The Spotted Eagle Ray is highly susceptible to a variety of inshore demersal fisheries, including trawls and gillnets. Significant risks to the species are posed by its large size, preference for inshore habitats and coral reefs and hence availability to a wide variety of inshore fishing gear (e.g., beach seine, gillnet), and the generally intense and unregulated nature of inshore fisheries across most of its range. The Spotted Eagle Ray is also occasionally reported as non-target catch in bather-protection gillnets deployed off eastern Australia; mortality is estimated at 16% but any effects on the local population are unknown (Broadhurst and Cullis 2020).

There is a high level of fisheries resource use across most of the range of the Spotted Eagle Ray. Throughout the East China Sea and Southeast Asia, heavy exploitation levels, intensive fishing, and growing demand for fish consumption has caused declines in fish stocks, and a reduction in fish size and their trophic levels; the ‘fishing down’ effect from 1979 to 2014 is one of the highest estimated globally (Heileman and Tang 2009, Liang and Pauly 2017). In the East China Sea, over 30% of the catch now consists of fish that are too small for human consumption but are still retained to produce fish meal (Cao et al. 2015, Liang and Pauly 2017). In the territorial waters of countries including Viet Nam, Thailand, and Cambodia, most fisheries are now considered overexploited, where fishing effort has been increasing since 1950 across subsistence, artisanal, and industrial fisheries (Pauly et al. 2020).

Eagle rays were previously marketed in considerable numbers in Thailand and Malaysia (Compagno and Last 1999), but some species are now very rarely landed (Araujo et al. 2020, Rigby et al. 2020). Indonesia catches the highest number of chondrichthyans in the world with sharks and rays an important resource and the main livelihood for some communities (Sadili et al. 2015). Since 2016, ray catches have overtaken shark catches and now comprise approximately 60% of reported shark and ray catches (Prasetyo et al. 2021). Between 2005 and 2018, eagle rays made up 8% of ray production across Indonesia (Prasetyo et al. 2021). The Spotted Eagle Ray is landed throughout Indonesia and is one of the primary species caught in the rhynchobatid tangle net fishery (White et al. 2006, D'Alberto et al. 2022). Net and trawl fisheries in Indonesia (especially the Java Sea) and elsewhere are very extensive and as a result, many shark and ray species are highly exploited and stocks of most species have declined by at least an order of magnitude (Blaber et al. 2009).

Across the northern Indian Ocean, fishing effort is increasingly intense and largely unregulated. For example, there were about 6,600 trawlers operating in the Indian state of Gujarat in the early 2000s (Zynudheen et al. 2004). This number increased to 9,905 by 2016 and across all of India, 30,772 trawlers and 6,548 gillnetters were operating in 2016 (CMFRI_FSI_DoF 2020). In the Saudi Red Sea, the number of traditional vessels operating more than tripled from about 3,100 to 10,000 between 1988 and 2006 (Bruckner et al. 2011). Fisheries in the Red Sea are primarily small-scale and artisanal vessels fish primarily in nearshore coastal waters using a range of fishing gears including traps, gillnets, hook-and-line, and longlines (Tesfamichael et al. 2012, Jabado et al. 2017). Yemen is one of the largest shark fishing nations in the world by reported catch (Dent and Clarke 2015), however the total biomass and number of species landed in Yemen from the Red Sea is unknown due to a lack of species-specific reporting (Spaet et al. 2012, Jabado and Spaet 2017). In Iran, the Spotted Eagle Ray is rarely observed in trawl fisheries operating in the Persian Gulf (e.g., Raeisi et al. 2011, Paighambari and Daliri 2012), or in the stingray-targeted gillnet fishery in the Gulf of Oman, where about 6,500 t (roughly equal to two million individuals) of rays are landed at approximately 50 landing sites (Rezaie-Atagholipour et al. 2022).

Across the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), more than 60 million people reside within 100 km of the coast and there is great dependence on marine resources for food and employment (Obura et al. 2017). Marine fisheries catch in the WIO reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) increased from the 1960s to the 1990s but have levelled off since 1999 suggesting stocks are fully fished. Artisanal catches are underreported and most small-scale, artisanal, and subsistence coastal fisheries within the WIO are considered to be fully- or overexploited, especially where they are found close to population centres (Obura et al. 2017). Information on sharks and rays in the WIO is limited. Landings have often not been reported to the species level (Marshall and Barnett 1997, Temple et al. 2018) and monitoring at major landing sites (including those in Tanzania and Kenya) only commenced around 2018 (Bennett et al. 2023). However, fisheries have been intensive and extensive throughout the region. Inshore fisheries deploy non-selective gears such as gillnets and beach seines, and drift gillnets are often used to target sharks and demersal gillnets to target rays (Kiszka 2012, Temple et al. 2018, Temple et al. 2019, Osuka et al. 2021). Eagle rays have been reported as both targeted catch and bycatch in many nations (Marshall and Barnett 1997, Temple et al. 2018, Nevill 2019). Off Mozambique, 92% of landings from the beach seine fishery, the primary small-scale fishery which accounted for nearly all shark and ray landings reported in 2014, were reportedly of the Spotted Eagle Ray (Temple et al. 2018). Eagle rays are also targeted by spearfishers (Nevill 2019, Venables et al. 2021). Small-scale migrant fishers operating across national territorial waters make monitoring catches difficult, and the occurrence of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fisheries throughout the region mean true catches are likely to be much higher than what is reported (Le Manach et al. 2015).

The shallow, inshore soft-substrate habitats preferred by rays are threatened by habitat loss and environmental degradation (Stobutzki et al. 2006, White and Sommerville 2010, Jabado et al. 2017). Indirect and sublethal sources of mortality include coastal habitat destruction and degradation, conversion of coastal lagoons and mangrove deforestation for agriculture (e.g., rice and salt) and aquaculture (e.g., shrimp, fish culture, and fish production); extensive oil and gas exploration, drilling, and production; the effects of rapid urban expansion from growing coastal populations and unplanned tourism development; pollution (unregulated sewage effluents, agricultural runoff, hydrocarbon, and heavy metals); sedimentation and siltation; and changes to the hydrological cycle from the building of dams leading to dramatic levels of habitat loss evident across the region (Todd et al. 2010, Price et al. 2014).

Eagle rays are retained for human consumption and fish meal. Meat may be sold either fresh or dried for human consumption. Eagle ray meat is preferred and more valuable than that of other rays in some regions (e.g., Indonesia, India), while in other regions it may be used but is of limited value (White et al. 2006, Jabado et al. 2017, White et al. 2018, Temple et al. 2019). In Pakistan, it is used for fish meal (M. Khan pers. comm. 2023). The species is also collected for the marine aquarium trade.

There are few conservation measures in place for this species. Bycatch reduction devices are mandated in all Australian trawl fisheries since the early-mid 2000s and have been shown to reduce the catch of Spotted Eagle Ray by 90%, though they may not be effective at excluding juveniles (Brewer et al. 2004). Although countries across its range have legislation concerning fisheries activities (including gear restrictions, and no-trawling zones in coastal waters), fisheries taking the Spotted Eagle Ray are generally unmanaged throughout large parts of the species’ range and it is unlikely that pressure will decrease in the near future. Many of the contemporary records for this species have occurred within marine protected areas (e.g., Great Barrier Reef Marine Park) or marine managed areas where conservation measures specific for sharks and rays have been established (e.g., Cagayancillo in the Philippines, Palau, and the Maldives) (Simpfendorfer 2023), highlighting the importance of marine protected areas for rare and highly threatened species.

Further research is needed on population size and trends, and life history, and catch rates should be monitored. To conserve the population and to permit recovery, a suite of measures will be required which may include species protection, spatial management, bycatch mitigation, and harvest and trade management measures (including international trade measures). Effective enforcement of measures will require ongoing training and capacity-building (including in the area of species identification). Catch monitoring is needed to help understand population trends and inform management.