The GREEN Page

Have you ever heard of a Spotted Hand fish?

Our Junior students learnt interesting facts about this rare fish species in Sustainability this week. This angler fish has evolved 100 million years ago around the time dinosaurs roared the Earth. Only 14 species survive today and are found in coastal waters of South-Eastern Australia and the river Derwent in Tasmania. The hand fish move slowly across the seafloor and walk on their 'hands' or pectoral fins. They eat worms and crustaceans. They have unique markings of spots and stripes just like we have fingerprints. The hand fish is on the endangered list as numbers have declined due to sea stars competing for food and space, pollution and climate change. Divers are working with scientists to breed the hand fish in captivity to boost their numbers. Our students viewed an excellent video by the CSIRO called Fish that walk (1999) on You Tube. The video showed how they move and eat in their environment and what is being done to protect them. An unusual sea creature that has survived and with conservation will live in greater numbers into the future.