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Draft Recovery Plan for Three Handfish Species

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Department of the Environment, 2015

(Brachionichthys hirsutus, Thymichthys politus and Brachiopsilus ziebelli)

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Public comment

You are invited to comment on this draft recovery plan in accordance with the provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The public comment period closes 24 April 2015.

If you wish to comment on this draft plan, please send your comments, quoting the title of the plan, to:
Email: recoveryplans@environment.gov.au
Mail:
Marine and Freshwater Species Conservation Section
Protected Species and Communities Branch
Wildlife, Heritage and Marine Division
Department of the Environment
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601

About this document

This document constitutes the draft Recovery Plan for Three Handfish Species (Brachionichthys hirsutus, Thymichthys politus and Brachiopsilus ziebelli) 2015. The recovery plan sets out the research and management actions necessary to stop the decline of, and support the recovery of, threatened handfish species in Australian waters.

Spotted handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) and red handfish (Thymichthys politus) are listed as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), and Ziebell’s handfish (Brachiopsilus ziebelli) is listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act. All three species are also currently listed, or under assessment for listing, as threatened under the Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 (Tasmania). This draft recovery plan follows a review of the 2005 recovery plan for these species.

The overarching objective of this recovery plan is to assist the recovery of these species in the wild by increasing their total population size, with a view to:

  • Improving the population status leading to the removal of these species from the protected species list of the EPBC Act; and
  • Ensuring that anthropogenic activities do not hinder recovery in the near future, or impact on the conservation status of the species in the future.

Related information

The 2005 recovery plan for handfish, and the review of the plan, are available at: