Spanish Mackerel Fishery Management Plan 2004 (NT)

NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA

Spanish Mackerel Fishery Management Plan 2004

As in force at 1 January 2010

Table of provisions [if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>&#160;</span>TOC \o &#34;1-9&#34; <span style='mso-element: field-separator'></span><![endif] — Preliminary1 — Citation2 — Commencement3 — Application of Plan4 — DefinitionsPart 2 — Management of fishery5 — Objects6 — Allowable catch7 — Review of management of fisheryPart 3 — Licensing8 — Restricted licences9 — Unrestricted licences10 — Number of licencesPart 4 — Commercial fishing11 — Application of Part12 — Prohibition of taking and possession of certain fish13 — Prohibition on use of fishing gear to take fish14 — Prohibition on use of fishing gear to take bait15 — DoriesPart 5 — Amateur fishing16 — Limit in number of spanish mackerel in possession of person carrying out amateur fishingPart 6 — Repeal17 — Repeal of ENDNOTES northern territory of australia

northern territory of australia

As in force at 1 January 2010

Spanish Mackerel Fishery Management Plan 2004

Plan under the Fisheries Act 1988

Part 1Preliminary 1Citation

This Plan may be cited as the Spanish Mackerel Fishery Management Plan 2004.

2Commencement

This Plan comes into operation on 1 January 2005.

3Application

This Plan applies to the Spanish mackerel fishery declared under section 22 of the Act to be a managed fishery by notice published in Gazette G28 dated 17 July 1991 at page 2.

4Definitions

In this Plan, unless the contrary intention appears:

allowable catch has the meaning in clause 6(1).

dory means a vessel that is used in conjunction with the mother boat for trolling under a licence.

fishery means the fishery to which this Plan applies under clause 3.

floating handline means a line to which is attached only one of the following:

• (a)

  one hook;

• (b)

  one set of joined hooks.

licence means a restricted licence or unrestricted licence.

licensee means the holder of a licence, and includes a person assisting a licensee conduct operations for the purposes of the licence.

lure means a device designed to attract or capable of attracting fish other than bait or berley.

release, in relation to a fish, means release back into the water from where it was taken as soon as practicable after it was taken.

restricted licence has the meaning in clause 8(1).

spanish mackerel means fish of the species Scomberomorus commerson.

spanish mackerel restricted bait net means a net that:

• (a)

  has both pocket and net made of mesh not larger than 65 mm;

• (b)

  has a drop of not more than 5 m; and

• (c)

  excluding the length of any haul lines attached to it, is not longer than 100 m or, if it is used as a surrounding net from a vessel, 200 m.

troll line means a line to which is attached only one of the following:

• (a)

  one hook;

• (b)

  one set of joined hooks attached to the one piece of bait;

• (c)

  one lure to which hooks may be attached.

unrestricted licence has the meaning in clause 9(2).

Part 2Management of fishery 5Objects

The objects of this Plan are:

• (a)

  to control the taking of spanish mackerel from the fishery by commercial fishing licensees, Fishing Tour Operator licensees and amateur fishers, whether taken as the principal catch or incidentally when taking fish from another fishery and whether or not the fisher releases the fish;

• (b)

  to ensure the fishery is not endangered, detrimentally affected or overexploited by managing the fishery in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development; and

• (c)

  to encourage fishing in the fishery by maintaining the level and quality of the yield from the fishery and ensuring Aborigines, commercial fishing licensees, Fishing Tour Operator licensees and amateur fishers have adequate access to the fishery.

6Allowable catch

• (1)

  The allowable catch of spanish mackerel for a year is 450 tonne (greenweight).

• (2)

  The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, allocate the allowable catch to a stated person or persons.

• (3)

  The notice may state the method (if any) by which the allowable catch is allocated.

7Review of management of fishery

• (1)

  The Director must conduct a review of the management of the fishery if:

  • (a)

    the amount of spanish mackerel taken from the fishery in a year is at least 90% of the allowable catch;

  • (b)

    the amount of spanish mackerel taken from the fishery in a year is at least 30% less than was taken in the previous year;

  • (c)

    the amount of spanish mackerel taken from the fishery in a year by Aborigines, Fishing Tour Operator licensees and amateur fishers is at least 20% less than taken by them in the previous year;

  • (d)

    the amount of spanish mackerel taken from the fishery in a year by commercial fishing licensees authorised to take spanish mackerel is at least 20% less than taken by those licensees in the previous year;

  • (e)

    the amount of fish of species other than spanish mackerel taken in a year by commercial fishing licensees authorised to take spanish mackerel while fishing for spanish mackerel is more than 10% of the amount of spanish mackerel taken by those licensees in that year; or

  • (f)

    the amount of spanish mackerel taken in a year by a person for whom the Minister has determined an allowable catch exceeds that catch.

• (2)

  For subclause (1), the amount of spanish mackerel taken from the fishery in a year is the amount decided by the Director using records, returns and information supplied by persons to the Director for the purposes of the Act.

Part 3Licensing 8Restricted licences

• (1)

  A restricted licence is a Spanish Mackerel Fishery licence granted to a person because the person held a pelagic licence endorsed for trolling in 1992.

• (2)

  Subject to subclause (3), the licensee may:

  • (a)

    take fish in accordance with the licence; and

  • (b)

    transfer the licence to another person.

• (3)

  A person to whom the licence is transferred on or after 1 July 1994 may not take fish under the licence but may transfer the licence to another person.

9Unrestricted licences

• (1)

  A person who holds 2 restricted licences may surrender both licences to the Territory.

• (2)

  On the surrender of the licences, the Director must issue to the person one Spanish Mackerel Fishery licence (an unrestricted licence).

• (3)

  The licensee may:

  • (a)

    take fish in accordance with the licence; and

  • (b)

    transfer the licence.

  10Number of licences
• (1)

  Subject to subclauses (2) and (3), the Director must not grant more licences than the number of licences held before the commencement of this Plan.

• (2)

  If a licensee surrenders a licence to the Territory (other than under clause 9) or a licence is cancelled or expires without being renewed, the number of licences that may be in force is reduced by one.

• (3)

  If a person is issued an unrestricted licence under clause 9 on the surrender of 2 licences, the number of licences that may be in force is reduced by one.

Part 4Commercial fishing 11Application of Part

This Part applies to a licensee conducting operations for the purposes of a licence.

12Prohibition of taking and possession of certain fish

A licensee must not take or have possession of the following species:

• (a)

  barramundi (Lates calcarifer);

• (b)

  mud crab (a crab of the genus Scylla);

• (c)

  shark (a fish of the Class Chondricthyes);

• (d)

  threadfin salmon (Polynemus sheridani).

Maximum penalty:          $5 000.

13Prohibition on use of fishing gear to take fish

A licensee must not use fishing gear, other than any number or combination of troll lines, floating handlines or rods, to take fish under the licence.

Maximum penalty:          $10 000.

14Prohibition on use of fishing gear to take bait

• (1)

  A licensee must not use fishing gear, other than a spanish mackerel restricted bait net, to take bait.

  Maximum penalty:          $5 000.

• (2)

  A licensee who is using a spanish mackerel restricted bait net must not do any of the following:

  • (a)

    haul the net other than by hand;

  • (b)

    stake or otherwise fix the net at more than one end;

  • (c)

    use the net in less than 30 cm of water while clearing the catch in the net;

  • (d)

    use the net in the Mary River Fish Management Zone within the meaning of the Barramundi Fishery Management Plan 1998;

  • (e)

    use the bait taken from the net other than as bait to take fish under his or her licence.

  Maximum penalty:          $5 000.

15Dories

• (1)

  A licensee must not use a dory that is more than 6.5 m long.

  Maximum penalty:          $10 000.

• (2)

  A licensee must not operate a dory independently from the mother boat for more than 6 hours.

  Maximum penalty:          $10 000.

• (3)

  A licensee must not operate more than 2 dories under the licence.

  Maximum penalty:          $10 000.

Part 5Amateur fishing 16Limit in number of spanish mackerel in possession of person carrying out amateur fishing

• (1)

  A person carrying out amateur fishing must not have possession of more than 2 spanish mackerel.

  Maximum penalty:          For possession of 3 spanish mackerel –$5 500.

  For possession of 4 or more spanish mackerel – $10 000 plus $1 000 for each spanish mackerel in possession that is in excess of 4.

• (2)

  Subclause (1) does not apply to spanish mackerel:

  • (a)

    taken under a licence; or

  • (b)

    at the person’s permanent residence.

  Part 6Repeal    

17Repeal of

The Spanish Mackerel Fishery Management Plan that came into operation on 1 February 1993 is repealed.

ENDNOTES

• 1

  KEY

Key to abbreviations

 

amd = amended od = order

app = appendix om = omitted

bl = by-law pt = Part

ch = Chapter r = regulation/rule

cl = clause rem = remainder

div = Division renum = renumbered

exp = expires/expired rep = repealed

f = forms s = section

Gaz = Gazette sch = Schedule

hdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision

ins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation

lt = long title sub = substituted

nc = not commenced

• 2

  LIST OF LEGISLATION

Spanish Mackerel Fishery Management Plan (SL No. 44, 2004)
Notified	1 January 2005
Commenced	1 January 2005
Spanish Mackerel Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2009 (SL No. 41, 2009)
Notified	21 December 2009
Commenced	1 January 2010

• 3

  GENERAL AMENDMENTS

General amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table of amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation Amendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: cl 1 and 14.

• 4

  LIST OF AMENDMENTS

cl 12 – 15           amd No. 41, 2009, cl 5

cl 16                  amd No. 41, 2009, r 4