Spotted handfish  (Brachionichthys hirsutus)

The spotted handfish was common in the lower Derwent River estuary until the mid 1980s, when the species underwent a catastrophic decline (2). Although unproven, it is thought that the introduction of the northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis) to Tasmania at this time may be the key to the decimation of the handfish population (3). These seastars are voracious predators of shellfish and it is thought that they may also eat the eggs of handfish or the sea squirts upon which the eggs are attached (2). The deterioration of coastal habitats due to development may also be involved in the decline (3). This species is under added threat from its vastly reduced population, limited dispersal, restricted distribution and low reproductive rate (3).

Just two spotted handfish were reported between 1990 and 1994; this dire state of the population led to the formation of the Spotted Handfish Recovery Team in 1996 (3). The Recovery Team consists of a number of government agencies concerned with saving this rare, and bizarre, fish. Research into existing wild populations and the development of captive breeding techniques are some of the priorities of the recovery plan (3). Initial work has been encouraging, with successful breeding attempts from two adult pairs of spotted handfish at the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries Aquaculture (2). A captive population may be used in a future re-introduction programme to restore these fish to some of their previous range (6).