The rare pink handfish have been spotted along the Tasmanian coast in Australia after 22 long years of monitoring and conservation.
According to the national science agency of Australia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the existence of this rare ‘walking’ fish was last spotted almost around 22 years ago. The pink handfish was officially last seen near the Tasmanian coast in 1999.
CSIRO reported in an article that once these ‘walking’ fish were abundant in coastal waters from southern to north-eastern Tasmania. However, their population is now restricted to isolated sub-populations in the Derwent and D’Entrecasteaux estuaries.
According to the article, the species was listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ in 2012, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC).
Scientists are looking forward to conserving this species of fish on a greater scale. The specialty of the pink handfish is that they have two protruding fins on each side of their body that look like tiny hands!
According to ABC’s news report, Professor Neville Barrett from the Institute of Antarctic and Marine Studies at the University of Tasmania has said that they are predicting a moderate-sized population of this species deep down the ocean. They also think that there is quite a viable colony of the fish down there because of the cooler waters that that is present that deep, due to which they are likely to persist for some time.”
Ms Kalinga