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A critically endangered fish from Tasmania has been given a boost in its odds for survival through a successful breeding effort interstate.
Key points:
- The critically endangered spotted handfish has been bred in captivity for the first time outside Tasmania
- The baby handfish hatched more than a year ago and are now ready for display at Melbourne's aquarium
- It's hoped there will eventually be enough bred to return some to the wild
Endemic to the island state, the spotted handfish is known for its preference of walking on hand-like pectoral fins across the seabed rather than swimming, and has become a big focus of marine conservation efforts.
Once found across Tasmania, this particular handfish's wild population can now only be found in a handful of spots in the River Derwent and at location in the D'Enctrecasteaux Channel.
But, over in Melbourne, the team at the SeaLife Aquarium is doing it's part to help boost numbers — successfully breeding a small number of the species.
Lead aquarist Sam Fawke said the feat was "extremely exciting."
"Originally we only planned on having them here as an ambassador population to educate the public — and then successfully managed to get them to breed and now we're a key part of this whole program.
"It should be really awesome to see this new population flourish."
The babies, known as fry, were hatched in January last year, and have been spending their time since growing and developing in nursery aquariums in the facility's back of house.
But now, they're ready to take centre stage.
"This is an incredible step forward for the program, and a major achievement for the team," Mr Fawke said.
"We've only got a small population on-site at this point in time — there are 10 on display.