Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00300:body:0:p11
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00300
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(Last and Gledhill, 2009). Given the low number of mature individuals and the extremely limited distribution of the species, all areas in which red handfish are found (including those currently known and any new areas identified in the future) represent habitat critical to the survival of the species.

3.3 Ziebell's / Waterfall Bay handfish (Brachiopsilus ziebelli)

3.3.1  Species description and distribution in Australian waters
Ziebell's handfish is the largest known handfish species, reaching a maximum total length of approximately 150 mm (DEH, 2001). The species has a moderately short, rounded body that is usually humped near the head and tapers toward the tail (Last and Gledhill, 2009). It has thick, flabby, smooth skin. Typically, the body is pink to white, with the upper surface and sides having purple to brown randomly placed blotches. Fins are generally bright yellow and, in some specimens, the yellow extends onto the body adjacent to the fins (Last and Gledhill, 2009). The illicium (the modified first dorsal-fin spine) is pink to white (Last et al., 1983).
Ziebell's handfish are restricted to eastern and southern Tasmania in widely disjunct populations (Last and Gledhill, 2009) (refer to Table 2 and Figure 3). The species has been recorded at Bicheno, Forestier Peninsula, Tasman Peninsula, Actaeon Islands and Cox Bight in depths of 10–20 m (Last and Gledhill, 2009). Ziebell's handfish have not been observed, or systematically surveyed, for several years and the species' current distribution is unknown.

3.3.2 Population trends
The Ziebell's handfish population has not been systematically surveyed (DEH, 2005). However, ad hoc surveys by Tasmanian dive groups suggest the population of Ziebell's handfish is small (DEH, 2001). In 2005, attempts by divers to locate specimens in locations where this species had previously been recorded, such as Waterfall Bay and the Actaeon Islands, failed to locate any individuals, suggesting localised declines (DEH, 2005). However, a lack of systematic surveying of the species makes it impossible to determine whether populations are increasing, decreasing or stable (DEH, 2005).

3.3.3 Biology and Ecology
Ziebell's handfish move by using their hand-like fins to crawl across the seafloor (DEH, 2005). The species' diet probably consists of small invertebrates (Pogonoski et al., 2002) such as crustaceans and polychaete worms (Edgar et al., 1982). The longevity of Ziebell's handfish is yet to be determined, though the species can obtain a total length of at least 151 mm (Last and Gledhill 2009).
Ziebell's handfish have a similar breeding strategy to spotted handfish and red handfish, whereby they produce an egg mass structure connected by tubules and threads (Bruce et al.,, 1999), attach the egg masses to vertical structures and females guard the eggs until they hatch into fully formed young which settle in the immediate