Photographer captures image of rare fish that walks on its ‘hands’

In the dark and silty depths of Tasmania’s Derwent River, an unusual kind of fish can be found walking – not swimming – along the riverbed. The spotted handfish, which moves using pectoral fins that look like hands, lurks in the murky depths, ready to pounce on any prey it attracts with the fluffy lure above its mouth.
Its cream coloring and dark brown or orange spots blend in with the sandy floor, making the fish hard to spot, and even harder to photograph. This, coupled with the fact that the species is critically endangered, with fewer than 3,000 individuals thought to remain in the wild.
But French photographer Nicolas Remy was determined to see the elusive fish for himself. In 2022, he traveled from his base in Sydney to Australia’s coldest state, and dived into the waters of the Derwent which were a chilly 11 degrees Celsius.
An hour in, he spotted the first handfish, but with the burst of his camera flash it was gone. All the photograph had captured was a cloud of silt. Remy realized he would have to hone his technique for this species and spent three consecutive days and a total of nine hours in the river.
Photographer captures image of rare fish that walks on its ‘hands’