Smooth Handfish, Noumea Fisheries and all the wet and salty news

The Smooth Handfish was once so plentiful in Tasmania, it was one of the first Australian fish species to be documented in scientific literature. In July this year, it was declared extinct, representing another significant and devastating loss of a species. Tomorrow afternoon (Sunday 22.11) The Smooth Handfish Vigil will provide a space and time for anyone, anywhere in the world to pause, congregate, consider, and reflect on extinction, and particularly the Smooth Handfish. We’ll speak with Safdar Ahmed co-creator of the Smooth Handfish Vigil about the event, what it means, and how you can participate. •Then we cross to Noumea to catch up with Paul Hamer, Principal Fisheries Scientist working for the Pacific Community . Paul will join us to talk about FADs – not the Tamagotchi type, but Fish Aggregating Devices and the world’s largest tuna fishery! •Dr Beach feasts on the recent literature: from octopus arms tasting their prey, to elephant seals reporting on the super cold depths of the Antarctic. • Plus we cover the 2020 Victorian Coastal Awards winners including our very own Fam Charko and Neil Blake/Captain Trash, the 2020 Great Victorian Fish Count, and incredible recent footage taken from the CSIRO Research Vessel ‘Investigator’ of a meteor breaking up off the south coast of Tasmania.