Photo of rare, endangered fish that walks on its "hands" wins underwater photography contest

A rare and critically-endangered fish is gaining attention online after a photograph that captured its awe-inspiring look won an underwater photography contest. The spotted handfish, an odd-looking fish that appears to walk on hand-like fins, was photographed by Nicholas Remy in Tasmania last year.

Remy's photo was awarded first place in the Ocean Art Underwater Photography 2022 cold water category this year. There are less than 3,000 spotted handfish remaining in the wild, according to the Handfish Conservation Project and the vast majority live in Tasmania's Derwent Estuary. 

There are fourteen species of handfish and three of them — spotted, red and Ziebell's — are critically endangered. The spotted handfish is threatened by pollution and habitat loss due to sedimentation, the conservation project says.