Prior to the finding of additional specimens in Kuwait, the International Union for Conservation of Nature assessed the smoothtooth blacktip shark as Endangered based on its presumed small range and population. Despite the discovery of a second subpopulation off Kuwait, this species likely still warrants an Endangered assessment because the waters around the Arabian Peninsula are subject to heavy fishing pressure and habitat degradation. Gillnet and other fisheries off Kuwait are known to take the smoothtooth blacktip shark as bycatch, while intensive Yemeni and Somalian shark fisheries operate in the Gulf of Aden. The status of the Yemen subpopulation is uncertain because no further specimens have been recorded since the original over a century ago.