Another arm of CSIRO’s project involves collection of ambassador fish and a captive breeding program. In partnership with CSIRO, Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, Seahorse World at Beauty Point now hold brood stock and young for restocking following the ASH deployment. During 2017 I designed ceramic ASH for aquariums at CSIRO holding tank and Seahorse World. These have been produced in alternative size and structure to accommodate shallow substrate in the tanks. In 2017 at Seahorse World, a gravid female spawned around a ceramic ASH as a world first.
In 2018 I undertook an Art/Science residency at UTAS School of Creative Arts to produce this body of work. The CSIRO project is headed by Dr Tim Lynch, Senior Research Scientist. In September 2018 the CSIRO divers reported the first wild spawning on ceramic ASH in the Derwent River. CSIRO continue to survey the spawning in the ‘ASH fields’ and monitor the egg masses.
This is a scientific based, research driven art and design project resulting in site specific ceramic marine installations in the Derwent River, Tasmania with an aim to further secure from extinction the Spotted Handfish.