Marine biologist Océane Attlan and researchers from the University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute spotted the rare Braun’s wrasse fish near Albany, WA, after 14 years. The small, brightly coloured fish, measuring just 6 to 7 centimetres, was last seen in 2009 but had never been photographed since. Attlan said, “All of a sudden I saw this fish. You know when you recognise a familiar face, but you can’t put a name on it. That’s the feeling I had.” The sighting happened on the last dive of a four-day kelp forest survey. Although Attlan didn’t have a camera, fellow researcher Dr Albert Pessarrodona quickly took two photos. The fish was hiding in seaweed among the kelp forest, part of the Great Southern Reef stretching 8,000km along Australia's southern coast. Attlan explained, “This ecosystem has so many species that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. That makes the ecosystem very precious.” The photos were shared with experts at the Western Australian Museum and confirmed as Braun’s wrasse. This discovery is important because it shows the species may not be extinct despite marine heatwaves affecting the area recently. Prof Culum Brown, a fish ecologist, said, “The more time you spend underwater...there’s a really good chance that you’re going to find something or see something that no one’s ever seen before.” This find could encourage more divers to search for rare fish in Australian waters.