1st Place Cold Water

Nicolas Remy

"The Rare Spotted Hand-Fish from Tasmania"

The Story: The spotted handfish is a critically-endangered type of anglerfish which is found only in parts of Tasmania. It owes its name to its pectoral fins which resemble hands, and the fact that it "walks" on the seafloor. 

It is believed that there are less than 3000 of them remaining in the wild. They were once common in Tasmania's waters, but are nowadays found only in a few rivers, only in Tasmania. Their decline is due to pollution of their environment, but also the invasive Northern Pacific Seastar, which feeds on their eggs. 

During last Tasmanian winter, I spent 9 hours diving a patch of the Derwent River (Hobart, Tasmania) where I knew a few spotted handfish lived. The water was dark and silty with about 2 meters visibility, and I used two strobes with snoots to illuminate only the handfish and less of the floating particles.

Location: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia  

Equipment Used: Nikon D810 Camera, Nikon 105mm AF-S Macro Lens, Nauticam NA-D810 Housing, Dual Retra Flash Pro with Dual Retra LSD Snoot, Nauticam EMWL-1 Wet Lens.

Camera Settings: ISO 640, F18, 1/200 sec

References: Articles, Reviews, Travel Blog

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