Beserk is passionate about our Earth. We love all of the animals, humans and places no matter how different they may be. As they like to say at the Handfish Conservation - "If you’ve never seen a handfish before, imagine dipping a toad in some brightly coloured paint, telling it a sad story, and forcing it to wear gloves two sizes too big!".
Today we are bringing all eyes to the Handfish Conservation based in Tasmania. They were established in 2018 to implement a recovery plan for the three Critically Endangered species of handfish; the Red Handfish, Spotted Handfish & Ziebell's Handfish. They strive to provide a wider understanding of these fish and the fact that their habitats are changing which is essential to their recovery and conservation.
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Our support is critical in supporting this research! For a minimum of $1,000 anybody can go to https://handfish.org.au/meet-the-fish/ and name their own fish. Even you can, sponsoring it and supporting its conservation. So many wonderful people have already taken part and named their own Red Handfish and so did we...
Introducing our Red Handfish, who we decided to name Beserky!
She is so cute & we wish her well in her sea life adventures!
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Meet the Handfishes...
True to their name, the handfishes are a family of fishes that walk with their over-sized "hands" rather than swim. There are fourteen handfish species in total, all of which are found only in southern Australia - predominantly in Tasmania. 
Spotted Handfish - Spotted Handfish are the most common and well understood of all the handfish species.
Found only in the Derwent Estuary in Tasmania, there are thought to be fewer than 3000 individuals remaining in the wild (although these numbers may have since declined) and they are considered Critically Endangered.
Red Handfish - Red Handfish are currently known from only two small 50m long patches of reef in south-eastern Tasmania, and are thought to have a total population of approximately 100 adults.
They vary in colour from bright-red to light pink/ brown and are typically less than 10cm in length. Habitat loss and destruction, pollution and urban developments are the main threats to the recovery of the Red handfish population.
Ziebell's Handfish - The Ziebell's Handfish is the most elusive of the three handfish species covered by the Handfish Conservation Project, with no confirmed sightings of a Ziebell's since 2007.
They can be purple/ brown in colour, often with lighter patches on fins, or, in a second form, with bright yellow fins and pale cream to grey body. They grow to a maximum length of 15cm.
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Handfish are known in only two locations inside of Tasmania. Their current main threat is the degradation of the seaweed that provide their habitat with shelter. With additional threats including pollution, nutrients and interactions with any predators.
Join us today and help raise awareness and provide much needed education and knowledge to help fight for a rare species that deserves our help.
If you want to help today, you can also donate directly to them, from as little as .50c - and you can help to preserve the lives of the Handfish.
Beserk xx
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