Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00300:body:0:p26
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00300
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 101711–105172

-        105
  - annual monitoring of spotted handfish at Battery Point and Sandy Bay
  - biannual monitoring of spotted handfish at other identified sites                40      40      -        -       -        80
  - biannual monitoring of red and Ziebell's handfish at identified sites
                                                                                     135     135     135      135     135      675

                                                                                     -       -       20-180*  -       20-180*  40-360

                                                                                     -       -       2-16**   -       2-16**   4-32
TOTAL                                                                                825     455     407-581  245     222-396  2154-2502

* cost may vary as action may not be implemented, or may be implemented at a reduced number of sites, as it is dependent on the outcomes of surveying to locate extant populations of spotted handfish

** cost may vary as action may not be implemented, or may be implemented at a reduced number of sites, as it is dependent on the outcomes of surveying to locate extant populations of red handfish and Ziebell's handfish

9 Current management practices
As the three species of handfish are protected under the EPBC Act, it is an offence to kill, injure, take, trade, keep, or move any individual without a permit in Commonwealth waters. In addition, all listed threatened species are considered matters of national environmental significance (MNES), and any action that may have an impact on MNES must be referred to the Minister of the Environment for approval. The Department of the Environment, as the Australian Government department responsible for administering the EPBC Act, maintains a suite of interactive tools that allow users to search, find and generate reports on information and data describing MNES, including handfish. The conservation values atlas shows the location and spatial extent of conservation values (where sufficient information exists) and is available at: www.environment.gov.au/coasts/marineplans/cva/index.html.
The three handfish species are also protected across their range in state waters in Tasmania. Details of protection measures in Tasmania, including state marine parks that afford protection, can be obtained from the relevant state agency; classifications under state legislation are summarised in Table 1.

10 Effects on other native species and biodiversity benefits
Reducing anthropogenic impacts from coastal and marine developments and recreational boating activities, and supporting work to improve water quality in the Derwent Estuary, will likely benefit other listed threatened species, such as the Derwent River seastar (Marginaster littoralis) and the Tasmanian live-bearing seastar (Parvulastra vivipara). Implementation of the recovery plan will also have positive outcomes for other marine species through improving habitat quality.

11 Social and economic considerations
Habitat degradation (marine and coastal developments and pollution) threaten handfish species and may largely exclude them from areas, perhaps traditionally utilised for feeding or spawning, where they were historically much more abundant. Due to their distribution in shallow coastal habitats in close proximity to urban and industrial areas handfish, particularly spotted handfish, populations could be