Red handfish

How it lives

It is a bottom-dweller of shallow reef and sand, most often seen under a canopy of seaweed, and FishBase gives a depth of up to about 6 m. It has no swim bladder and uses its hand-like fins to walk. Eggs are laid at the base of seagrass and guarded by the adults, and the young hatch straight onto the seabed. Its lifespan is not known from the sources opened.

Where it goes

The red handfish does not migrate. It walks slowly on its hand-like fins and has no drifting larval stage, so its young hatch on the seabed and cannot easily spread to new reefs. It once lived at several sites in south-eastern Tasmania, and now survives on two small patches of reef, each about 50 m long, in Frederick Henry Bay.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

The IUCN (assessed 2018, published 2020) rates it Critically Endangered, meaning an extremely high risk of extinction. It is also Critically Endangered under Australian law, and Endangered in Tasmania. Counts have varied between sources: fewer than 100 in the wild (ABC News, January 2024), about 100 adults (Handfish Conservation Project), and fewer than 250 (news of the October 2025 release). In early 2024, 25 fish were taken into care during a marine heatwave, when the water reached almost 25 degrees Celsius, and 18 were returned in May 2024. In October 2025, 65 captive-raised fish were released into Frederick Henry Bay. Overgrazing of seaweed by sea urchins, pollution, coastal development and warming seas are the main concerns.