Conservationists in Australia are celebrating the return of 18 critically endangered red handfish to the sea after they were taken into care at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) in January to protect them from marine heatwaves.
Researchers believe there are fewer than 100 red handfish left in the wild so taking 25 individuals into care at IMAS was a huge decision – and one that required special permission from the Australian government.
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“They’re wild animals and belong in the sea,” said Dr Andrew Trotter, who leads IMAS’ conservation breeding project for red handfish. Of the 25 individuals removed from the wild, 18 have been returned to the sea, four have been added to IMAS’ captive breeding programme and three sadly died.
“Although we expected mortality in captivity, we were still disappointed to have three mortalities during this time,” says Trotter. “But this has highlighted the urgent need to better understand disease in this species.”
Red handfish (Thymichthys politus) are a species of anglerfish that grows to around 8cm long – smaller than a Post-it Note – and come in a range of colours from bright red to light pink or brown. They are known for their bizarre appearance (the Handfish Conservation Project says to “imagine dipping a toad in some brightly coloured paint, telling it a sad story, and forcing it to wear gloves two sizes too big,”) and their use of oversized fins to ‘walk’ along the seafloor because they don’t have a swim bladder to keep them afloat.
Although risky, the team believes taking these animals into captivity during the Australian summer was the right approach. “The site data shows the temperatures this summer exceeded previous known maximums,” says marine ecologist Dr Jemina Stuart-Smith, who co-leads IMAS’ red handfish research and conservation programme. “We can only assume that this additional stressor would have impacted the already vulnerable population.”
This population is only found in two small patches of rocky reef in Frederick Henry Bay, southeast of Hobart. In these areas, native sea urchins have overgrazed the seaweed and seagrass needed for red handfish to survive. Pollution, coastal development, human activities and climate change all add further pressure to the fragile population.
Part of the conservation effort also included habitat recovery: removing the troublesome urchins to prevent the loss of refuges for the red handfish.
“We’re now focused on habitat restoration and management at red handfish sites which is crucial to the survival of the species,” says Dr Stuart-Smith. The IMAS team will continue monitoring these rare animals in the wild and hopes to release more individuals in future if the captive breeding programme is successful.
Main image: red handfish settling back into home. Credit: Jemina Stuart-Smith, IMAS
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