Meet the site
Bellerive Beach lies on Hobart's eastern shore, looking across the Derwent to the city and kunanyi/Mount Wellington. The Marine Life Network guide describes it frankly as a training site that is scenically unremarkable, in 4-6 m, but notes that it is one of the places where the rare spotted handfish – whose fins have 'half evolved into legs' – can be found, along with the invasive Pacific seastar. The bottom is sand and silt with scattered shells, seagrass patches and debris. Apart from handfish, divers can expect flathead, stingarees, pipefish, sea stars and small crabs, and the site is an easy place to practise skills. The spotted handfish survives in fewer than ten colonies in the Derwent estuary; its main threats are loss of spawning habitat to the Northern Pacific seastar, damage from swing moorings and historic scallop dredging. Divers who find one should keep well back, avoid touching the bottom and never disturb the stalked ascidians or artificial structures on which handfish lay eggs in spring. Heavy boat traffic is the chief practical hazard, as the guide notes, so a dive flag is essential. Visibility is usually poor. Bellerive is a convenient eastern-shore site with good facilities, but it is best approached as a low-key training or critter dive rather than a scenic reef. Because the beach is close to cafes, parks and the Bellerive Boardwalk, it is also easy to combine with non-diving family activities, and the view back to the city at dusk is excellent. Divers interested in handfish should consider a guided dive with Go Dive Tasmania on the western shore, where colonies are actively monitored and guides know the rules.
What you might see
Spotted handfish (rare), flathead, stingarees, pipefish, sea stars, crabs, Northern Pacific seastar (invasive)
Location
Beach on Hobart's eastern shore, used as a training site, where spotted handfish have been recorded on the sandy bottom in 4-6 m.
Facilities nearby
Parking, toilets, playground and cafes at Bellerive; fills in Hobart.
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
marinelife.org.auderwentestuary.org.auRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.