Amendment of List of Exempt Native Specimens – Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery, March 2021

Administered by Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Legislation au F2021L00342 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Amendment of List of Exempt Native Specimens – Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery, March 2021

(Issued by the authority of the delegate of the Minister for the Environment specified in the enabling legislation)

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) places certain obligations on the Commonwealth to protect and conserve Australia’s native wildlife by regulating international trade in order to protect targeted species against over exploitation and to protect Australian and international ecosystems.  

Section 303DB of the EPBC Act provides for the establishment of a list of exempt native specimens (the list). Specimens included in the list are exempt from the trade control provisions that apply to regulated native specimens.

Purpose and operation

The purpose of this instrument is to delete from the list specimens that are or are derived from fish and invertebrates taken in the Commonwealth Fisheries, and any associated restrictions or conditions specified in Schedule 1 to the instrument.

Schedule 2 to the instrument also includes in the list specimens that are or are derived from fish or invertebrates taken from the same Commonwealth fisheries, with notations that inclusion of the specimens in the list are subject to restrictions or conditions that the specimen, or the fish or invertebrate from which it is derived, was taken lawfully, and that the specimens are included in the list while declarations as approved wildlife trade operations are in place for these two fisheries as specified in Schedule 2.

The relevant fishery is:

  • Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery

Listing these specimens in the list will allow the export of these specimens without the need for export permits, while the respective declarations as approved wildlife trade operations are in force for the fishery. Links to the declaration is accessible via the following Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (the Department) websites for the fishery:

  • Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery
  • webpage at http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/fisheries/qld/developmental-fin-fish-trawl

The only effect of this instrument is to allow continued export for these specimens subject to the conditions provided in the notations as specified in Schedule 2.

Incorporation

All Queensland legislation referred to in the instrument is incorporated as in force at the time this instrument commences. All Queensland legislation incorporated by reference in the instrument can be freely accessed on the Queensland Legislation website: https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/ (as of March 2021).

Commonwealth Acts and disallowable instruments (or instruments which were disallowable under Commonwealth legislation at any time before 1 January 2005) referred to in this instrument are incorporated as in force from time to time (section 14 of the Legislation Act 2003). However, references to Commonwealth instruments which are exempt from disallowance are incorporated as in force at the time this instrument commences (section 14 of the Legislation Act 2003).

All Commonwealth legislation can be freely accessed at the Federal Register of Legislation – https://www.legislation.gov.au/.

Strategic assessment not required

Subsection 303DC(1A) of the EPBC Act requires the Minister, in deciding whether to amend the list, to rely primarily on the outcomes of any assessment carried out for the purposes of Divisions 1 or 2 of Part 10 of the EPBC Act.

A strategic assessment is only required for fisheries managed under the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Cth) or the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 (Cth). A strategic assessment may be made for commercial fisheries under Division 1; however, there are no current strategic assessments in respect of the fishery from which the specimens listed in the Schedule are taken or derived.

The fishery listed in the Schedule to the instrument are not managed by the Commonwealth under the aforementioned Acts. Therefore, the EPBC Act does not require there to be a strategic assessment for the purposes of Part 10 of the Act in relation to the fishery named in the Schedule.

Precautionary principle

Under section 391(1) of the EPBC Act, the Minister must take account of the precautionary principle when deciding whether to amend the list and when deciding whether to declare an operation to be an approved wildlife trade operation.

Section 391(2) of the EPBC Act provides that the precautionary principle is that lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing a measure to prevent degradation of the environment where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage.

The conditions proposed for inclusion on Part 13A approvals are designed to ensure Queensland follows their prescribed management arrangements, for the Department to be informed of intended material changes to management arrangements and fisheries legislation, and for Queensland to report annually against fishery management guidelines. The conditions represent a precautionary approach to the management of environmental uncertainty and risk. The management regime, when supported by these conditions is expected to be enough to prevent serious or irreversible environmental damage being caused by this fishery.

The list established under section 303DB(1) of the EPBC Act must not include a specimen that belongs to taxa listed under section 209 of the EPBC Act (Australia’s List of Migratory Species), or specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 248 of the EPBC Act (Australia’s List of Marine Species).

The list established under section 303DB(1) of the EPBC Act must not include a specimen that belongs to an eligible listed threatened species unless the conditions in subsection 303DB(6) are satisfied. Under the EPBC Act, eligible listed threatened species are those species listed in the extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable categories established under section 178 of the EPBC Act (see sections 303BC and 528 of the EPBC Act. 

Those specimens that belong to species listed in the conservation dependent category of the EPBC Act are not eligible listed threatened species and may therefore be included in the list, subject to the conditions provided in the notation.

In accordance with section 303CA of the EPBC Act, specimens that are derived from taxa that are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are not included in the list.

Assessment of specimens

In determining to include the specimens in the list, the Minister’s delegate had regard to the Australian Government’s ‘Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries – 2nd Edition’. These guidelines establish the criteria for assessment of the ecological sustainability of the relevant fishery’s management arrangements.

Consultation

Subsection 303DC(3) of the EPBC Act provides that before amending the list, the Minister for the Environment must consult such other Commonwealth minister or ministers and such other minister or ministers of each state and self-governing territory, as the minister considers appropriate. The minister may also consult with such other persons and organisations as the minister considers appropriate.

The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has been consulted and supports amending the list to include product derived from the Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery.

In addition, the proposal to amend the list was advertised on the Department’s website and comment was invited from interested persons 24 July 2020 to 26 August 2020 (a total of more than 20 business days excluding all state, territory and national public holidays).

Two public submissions were received which raised concerns regarding the need to: regulate the fishery under Queensland fisheries regulations; improve information and management for target stock (including Mangrove Jack); bycatch; discards; protected species, its ecological resources; and to improve monitoring of fish catch and interactions. In particular that the fishery:

  • has been operating for 22 years as a developmental fishery. DAWE should not approve it until the fishery is fully regulated under Queensland fisheries regulations.
  • requires a harvest strategy, a Level 2 ERA, a bycatch mitigation strategy, stock assessments, independent monitoring programs and reporting of bycatch,
  • has a large quantity of unreported bycatch, which is socially unacceptable,
  • stocks of Mangrove Jack do not appear to have recovered,
  • has a decline in non-target marine megafauna species, and
  • is economically unviable and product is often low value.

These matters were considered throughout the assessment of the fishery and have either been addressed by QDAF or are being addressed via conditions on wildlife trade (Part 13A) approvals granted in association with this amendment of the List of Exempt Native Specimens.

This instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.

The instrument commences the day after it is registered.

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Amendment of List of Exempt Native Specimens – Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery, March 2021

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The purpose of this instrument is to delete from the list specimens that are, or are derived from, fish and invertebrates taken in a Commonwealth fishery, and any associated restrictions or conditions specified in Schedule 1 to the instrument.

Schedule 2 to the instrument also includes in the list specimens that are, or are derived from, fish or invertebrates taken from the Commonwealth fishery, with notations that inclusion of the specimens in the list are subject to restrictions or conditions that the specimen, or the fish or invertebrate from which it is derived, was taken lawfully, and that the specimens are included in the list while declarations as approved wildlife trade operations are in place for these the fishery as specified in Schedule 2.

The relevant fishery is:

  • Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery

Listing these specimens in the list will allow the export of these specimens without the need for export permits, while the respective declarations as approved wildlife trade operations are in force for the fishery. Links to the declarations are accessible via the following Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (the Department) website for the fishery:

  • Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery at http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/fisheries/qld/developmental-fin-fish-trawl

The only effect of this instrument is to allow continued export for these specimens subject to the conditions provided in the notations as specified in Schedule 2.

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

Laura Timmins, Senior Director, Wildlife Trade Office (Delegate of the Minister for the Environment)

 

Overview

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (List of Exempt Native Specimens – Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery) Instrument 2021 (the Instrument) was enacted to address the need for streamlined export processes for certain fish and invertebrate specimens derived from the Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery. The Instrument was introduced by the Minister for the Environment as a legislative measure under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). This Act places obligations on the Commonwealth to protect native wildlife, and the Instrument facilitates the export of specified specimens by exempting them from certain trade control provisions, subject to conditions. The policy objective is to support sustainable fisheries management while enabling the export of these specimens in compliance with relevant wildlife trade operations.

Scope and Application

The Amendment of List of Exempt Native Specimens – Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery, March 2021, is an instrument made under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and serves to modify the list of exempt native specimens that are or are derived from fish and invertebrates taken in the Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery. This amendment is applicable to specimens taken from this specific Commonwealth fishery and allows for their export without the need for export permits, subject to certain conditions. The conditions include the lawful taking of the specimens and the operation of the fishery under declarations as approved wildlife trade operations, as specified in the schedules of the instrument. The instrument is designed to facilitate trade while ensuring that environmental protections are maintained through specified conditions and management arrangements. This amendment is limited in scope and does not require a strategic assessment, given the nature and management of the specified fishery. It operates within the jurisdictional reach of the Commonwealth as per the EPBC Act and incorporates relevant legislation from both the Commonwealth and Queensland as in force at the time of its commencement.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of this legislation concern the amendment of the List of Exempt Native Specimens under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) (sections 1 and 2). Section 1 details the deletion of certain fish and invertebrate specimens from the list, while Section 2 includes new specimens from the Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Developmental Fin Fish Trawl Fishery, subject to specific conditions. These conditions include the lawful taking of specimens and the presence of declarations as approved wildlife trade operations. This allows for the export of these specimens without the need for export permits, provided the declarations are in effect. The instrument also incorporates relevant Queensland and Commonwealth legislation as in force at the time of its commencement (section 14 of the Legislation Act 2003). The obligations and requirements imposed by this Act on the parties or entities it governs include ensuring that the specimens listed are taken lawfully and that the fishery adheres to prescribed management arrangements. The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must inform the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment of any material changes to management arrangements and fisheries legislation. Additionally, Queensland must report annually against fishery management guidelines. These conditions are designed to prevent serious or irreversible environmental damage and to follow the precautionary principle as outlined in section 391 of the EPBC Act. Breach of the conditions specified in the notations can result in civil or criminal consequences. While the legislation does not explicitly state the penalties, breaches of the EPBC Act generally can lead to significant fines and, in some cases, imprisonment. The exact penalties depend on the severity of the breach and can be determined by a court. The precautionary principle, which mandates that lack of full scientific certainty should not prevent measures to prevent environmental degradation, underpins the enforcement of these conditions. The Minister for the Environment is required to consult with relevant parties before making amendments to the list, as stipulated in subsection 303DC(3) of the EPBC Act. Public submissions and concerns raised during the consultation process were considered in the assessment of the fishery, and any unresolved issues are addressed through conditions on wildlife trade approvals.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.