Torres Strait Fisheries Management Notice No. 57 (04/05/2001) (Cth)

Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984
Fisheries Management Notice No. 57

TORRES STRAIT PRAWN FISHERY
RESTRICTIONS ON GEAR

I, WILSON TUCKEY, Commonwealth Minister for Forestry and Conservation and Chairman of

the Protected Zone Joint Authority, acting on behalf of the Authority in accordance with the

powers conferred on the Authority by paragraph 35(1)(a) of the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984, make the following Notice under section 16 of the Act.

Dated this 4 day of May 2001

WILSON TUCKEY

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CITATION

1.This Notice may be cited as Torres Strait Fisheries Management Notice No. 57.

COMMENCEMENT

2.This Notice commences on gazettal.

THIS NOTICE TO APPLY WITH OTHER NOTICES

3.           This Notice applies in conjunction with any other notice in force in the area of the prawn fishery.

REVOCATION OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT NOTICE 39

4.           Fisheries Management Notice No. 39 published in Gazette No S 61, 25 February 1994.

INTERPRETATION

5.1         In this Notice, unless the contrary intention appears:

"prawns" means fish of the family Penaeidae spp;

"the Act" means the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984.

5.2 Terms used but not defined in this Notice have the same meaning as in the Act and the Torres Strait Fisheries Regulations.

PROHIBITION

6.1 Pursuant to paragraph 16(1)(f) of the Act, the use or possession of otter trawl equipment in

the area of the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery is prohibited if:

(a)where only one net is used – the length of the net is longer than 88 metres; or

(b)where more than one net is used – the total combined length of the nets is longer than 88 metres.

6.2 Pursuant to paragraph 16(1)(f) of the Act, the use or possession of otter trawl equipment in the area of the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery is prohibited if:

(a)the size of the meshes in the cod end is less than 38 millimetres; or

(b)there are more than 150 meshes when measured in the vertical plane from the drawstring; or

(c)the size of the meshes in all other parts of the net other than the cod end does not exceed 45 millimetres; or

(d)there is more than 1 line of ground chain across the mouth of each net; or

(e)the diameter of the links of the ground chain exceed 10 millimetres; or

(f)the chain is used with a weight or an attachment, other than an attachment for joining the chain to the net.

MEASURING NETS AND MESHES

7.1         For the purposes of paragraph 6.1 the length of a net is determined by measuring the combined length, in metres, of the head rope and bottom rope when taut between the outermost points of the meshes attached to the head rope.

7.2         For the purposes of paragraph 6.2 the size of a mesh of a:

(a)knotless trawl net is determined by measuring the average distance when the net is taut, between the inner edges of 2 diagonally opposite corners of each of 10

meshes at least 30 centimeters from each other; or

(b)knotted trawl net is determined by measuring the average distance when the net is taut, between the inner edges of 2 diagonally opposite knots of each of 10 meshes

at least 30 centimeters from each other

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