Jakarta –
To commemorate the 140th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Tasman in Tasmanian waters, a group of divers decided to visit the wreck. Despite the challenges in reaching the ship, the dive team was delighted as they not only saw the wreck but also caught a glimpse of the extremely rare pink handfish.
Pink handfish (Brachiopsilus dianthus) is an endangered fish. This species has only a small population, found in waters off Tasmania and the coast of Australia.
Although one conservation project is actively trying to breed the population to increase its numbers, this encounter was a fluke seen by three divers: Brad Turner, James Parkinson, and Bob Van Der Velde. They are divers from Scuba Diving Tasmania and Eaglehawk Dive Centre.
The pink handfish measures 13.6 cm and according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), only five of this species are known, and they have not been seen in the last 20 years. Likewise, another species called the narrow-bodied handfish (Pezichthys kompresus), was first seen in 1996 last year.
“We were there to explore the wreck, but the handfish stole the show,” Turner said as quoted by IFL Science.
Regarding the SS Tasman, this was a steamship that sank in November 1883 after hitting rocks near Hypolite Rock off the Tasman Peninsula. The boat then lay on the seabed undiscovered for more than 100 years.
Associate Professor in Antarctic and Marine Studies (IMAS) at the University of Tasmania, Neville Barrett, described this discovery as extraordinary and very valuable.
“This discovery gives us hope that pink handfish may seek refuge in deeper, cooler waters from warming coastal waters that threaten the existence of many Tasmanian marine species,” he said.
This may be the first time a photo of the species has been taken directly by humans. The reason is, the previous image of the pink handfish was immortalized using a remotely controlled underwater robot.
Since the initial dive, the team has returned to the wreck site three times to collect more images of the fish.
“There was a bit of excitement when we returned to the dive site and saw the second pink handfish, just 10 meters from the first,” Brad said.
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(rns/rns)
2024-04-06 15:27:34
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