Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), and as Endangered under Tasmania's Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. All handfish species are protected under the Tasmanian Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995, which prohibits their collection in State waters without a permit. The most urgent matter concerning the survival of the species is to address the threat posed by the presence of an introduced species of seastar, the Northern Pacific seastar (Asterias amurensis), which prey on not only the fish eggs, but also on the sea squirts (ascidians) that help to form the substrate that the fish spawn on. Since the seastar, native to Japanese waters, was established in the Derwent River and estuary in the 1980s, efforts have been made to control its spread in Australia. References General source External links (1999) spotted handfish Endemic fauna of Tasmania spotted handfish