EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999

Amendment of the List of Exempt Native Specimens in accordance with Section 303DC

(Issued under the Authority of the Minister for the Environment and Heritage)

Section 303DB of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) provides for the establishment of a list of exempt native specimens.  Specimens included on the list are exempt from the trade control provisions that apply to regulated native specimens.

The effect of this instrument is to add the following specimens listed in the Schedule to the list of exempt native specimens and to make those inclusions subject to the notations specified below:

Notations –

• The specimen, or the fish or invertebrate from which it is derived, was taken lawfully;

• The specimen is included on the list until 1 December 2005.

This variation will allow continued export of these specimens until 1 December 2005.

The intent of the notation is to allow export of marine fishery products while fisheries are assessed against the Australian Government’s Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries.

From 1 December 2004, the general exemption of marine products from the export requirements of the EPBC Act was removed. All products not assessed as being managed in an ecologically sustainable way by 1 December 2004 were removed from the list of exempt native specimens. A number of fisheries were identified as being unlikely to meet the 1 December 2004 deadline.

The EPBC Act has been very effective in driving improvements in fishery management.  The Act has catalysed systematic review of fishery management arrangements and a change from target species focussed management to a broader ecosystem based approach.  The fisheries assessment process has been lengthy, because of its emphasis on cooperative review and improvement.  The deadline for completion of the assessments needs to be extended to allow maintenance of the rigour of the process and the high level of ownership by stakeholders for the outcomes.