Declaration of an Approved Wildlife Trade Operation – Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery, April 2024

Declaration of an Approved Wildlife Trade Operation – Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery, April 2024

made under section 303FN of the

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Compilation No. 1

Compilation date: 5 March 2026

Includes amendments: F2026N00162

About this compilation

This compilation

This is a compilation of the Declaration of an Approved Wildlife Trade Operation – Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery, April 2024 that shows the text of the law as amended and in force on 5 March 2026 (the compilation date).

The notes at the end of this compilation (the endnotes) include information about amending laws and the amendment history of provisions of the compiled law.

Uncommenced amendments

The effect of uncommenced amendments is not shown in the text of the compiled law. The details of amendments made up to, but not commenced at, the compilation date are underlined in the endnotes. Any uncommenced amendments affecting the law are accessible on the Register (www.legislation.gov.au).

Application, saving and transitional provisions

If the operation of a provision or amendment of the compiled law is affected by an application, saving or transitional provision that is not included in this compilation, details are included in the endnotes.

Editorial changes

For more information about any editorial changes made in this compilation, see the endnotes.

Presentational changes

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Modifications

If the compiled law is modified by another law, the compiled law operates as modified but the modification does not amend the text of the law. Accordingly, this compilation does not show the text of the compiled law as modified. Any modifications affecting the law are accessible on the Register.

Self‑repealing provisions

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COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

DECLARATION OF AN APPROVED WILDLIFE TRADE OPERATION – QUEENSLAND AQUARIUM FISH FISHERY, APRIL 2024

I, BELINDA JAGO, Branch Head, Ocean and Wildlife Branch, as Delegate of the Minister for the Environment and Water, have considered in accordance with section 303FN of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) the application from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, public comments on the proposal as required under section 303FR and advice on the ecological sustainability of the operation. I am satisfied on those matters specified in section 303FN of the EPBC Act. I hereby declare the operations for the harvesting of specimens that are or are derived from fish or invertebrates, taken in the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery as defined in the management regime in force under the:

 Fisheries Act 1994 (Qld)

 Fisheries (General) Regulation 2019 (Qld)

 Fisheries (Commercial Fisheries) Regulation 2019 (Qld)

 Fisheries Declaration 2019 (Qld),

but not including:

(a) specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 209 of the EPBC Act (Australia’s List of Migratory Species), or

(b) specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 248 of the EPBC Act (Australia’s List of Marine Species), or

(c) specimens that belong to eligible listed threatened species, as defined under section 303BC of the EPBC Act, or

(d) specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 303CA of the EPBC Act (Australia’s CITES List), except for silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus), bignose shark (Carcharhinus altimus), graceful shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchoides), grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos), pigeye shark (Carcharhinus amboinensis), spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna), nervous Shark (Carcharhinus cautus), Australian blackspot shark (Carcharhinus coatesi), creek whaler (Carcharhinus fitzroyensis), bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), common blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus), hardnose shark (Carcharhinus macloti), blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus), dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus), sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), spot-tail shark (Carcharhinus sorrah), Australian blacktip shark (Carcharhinus tilstoni), sicklefin lemon shark/sharptooth lemon shark (Negaprion acutidens), milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus), Australian sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon taylori), whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus), giant shovelnose ray (Glaucostegus typus), whitespotted guitarfish/bottlenose wedgefish (Rhynchobatus australiae), eyebrow wedgefish (Rhynchobatus palpebratus) and shark ray (Rhina ancylostoma),

to be an approved wildlife trade operation, in accordance with subsection 303FN(2) and paragraph 303FN(10)(d), for the purposes of the EPBC Act.

Unless amended or revoked, this declaration:

a) is valid until 23 April 2027, and

b) is subject to the conditions applied under section 303FT specified in Schedule 1.

Notes:

1. Under the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975, a person whose interests are affected by this decision may apply for a statement of reasons and for independent review of the decision. An application for a statement of reasons may be made in writing to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water within 28 days of the date of the declaration. An application for independent review may be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on payment of the relevant fee within 28 days of the date of the declaration, or if reasons are sought, within 28 days of receipt of reasons. Further information may be obtained from the Director, Sustainable Fisheries Section, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Email: sustainablefisheries@dcceew.gov.au.

2. Australia’s obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are met through Part 13A of the EPBC Act. Specimens of species listed in Appendix II of Australia’s CITES list under section 303CA of the EPBC Act may only be exported, under a CITES export permit issued under the EPBC Act, if Australia’s CITES Scientific Authority has issued a non-detriment finding for that species. Further information, including a list of species for which non detriment findings have been issued and the fisheries from which they may be sourced, is available from https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/wildlife-trade/cites.

Schedule 1

Declaration of the harvest operations of the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery as an approved wildlife trade operation, April 2024

Condition 1
The operation of the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery must be carried out in accordance the Queensland Fisheries Act 1994, Fisheries (General) Regulation 2019, Fisheries (Commercial Fisheries) Regulation 2019, Fisheries Declaration 2019.

Condition 2
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must inform the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water of any intended material changes to the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery management arrangements that may affect the assessment against which Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 decisions are made.

Condition 3
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must inform the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water of any intended changes to fisheries legislation that may affect the legislative instruments relevant to this approval.

Condition 4
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must provide annual reports on the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water by 30 September annually, as per Appendix B of the Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries - 2nd Edition (2007).

Condition 5
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must:

a) By 31 October 2024, finalise and publish the level 2 species-specific assessment for the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery. The assessment should be undertaken in accordance with the Fisheries Queensland Ecological Risk Assessment Guideline, consider all available information, including information on the spatial distributions of key species, and address species-specific risks for all species in a precautionary way.

b) By 30 November 2026, implement all risk mitigation recommendations identified in the level 2 assessment.

Updates on implementation of these recommendations must be included in annual reports to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in accordance with condition 4.

Condition 6
By 30 November 2026, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must review and if necessary, update the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery harvest strategy to ensure it:

a) considers the outcomes from the Level 2 Environmental Risk Assessment

b) manages risks to individual species and ecosystem functions, including risks associated with environmental disturbance and localised depletion.

A copy of the revised harvest strategy must be published and sent to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water by 30 November 2026.

Condition 7
By 30 September 2024, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must facilitate reporting of all species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) caught (retained or discarded) in the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery to a species-level.

The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must include details of any retained or discarded catches of CITES-listed species to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water annually as part of Condition 4.

Condition 8
If, during the term of this Wildlife Trade Operation approval, the Great Barrier Reef experiences conditions that are likely to cause severe heat stress and coral bleaching, indicated by six consecutive Degree Heating Weeks, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must meet with the Department of Climate Change, Energy the Environment and Water and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to discuss appropriate management responses. This meeting should be pre-emptive to:

 consider the extent and severity of impact over the Great Barrier Reef

 discuss and explore required fisheries management responses to reduce fishing pressure on sensitive target species and enable heat-sensitive target species to recover.

Endnotes

Endnote 1—About the endnotes

The endnotes provide information about this compilation and the compiled law.

The following endnotes are included in every compilation:

Endnote 1—About the endnotes

Endnote 2—Abbreviation key

Endnote 3—Legislation history

Endnote 4—Amendment history

Abbreviation key—Endnote 2

The abbreviation key sets out abbreviations that may be used in the endnotes.

Legislation history and amendment history—Endnotes 3 and 4

Amending laws are annotated in the legislation history and amendment history.

The legislation history in endnote 3 provides information about each law that has amended (or will amend) the compiled law. The information includes commencement details for amending laws and details of any application, saving or transitional provisions that are not included in this compilation.

The amendment history in endnote 4 provides information about amendments at the provision (generally section or equivalent) level. It also includes information about any provision of the compiled law that has been repealed in accordance with a provision of the law.

Editorial changes

The Legislation Act 2003 authorises First Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial and presentational changes to a compiled law in preparing a compilation of the law for registration. The changes must not change the effect of the law. Editorial changes take effect from the compilation registration date.

If the compilation includes editorial changes, the endnotes include a brief outline of the changes in general terms. Full details of any changes can be obtained from the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.

Misdescribed amendments

A misdescribed amendment is an amendment that does not accurately describe how an amendment is to be made. If, despite the misdescription, the amendment can be given effect as intended, then the misdescribed amendment can be incorporated through an editorial change made under section 15V of the Legislation Act 2003.

If a misdescribed amendment cannot be given effect as intended, the amendment is not incorporated and “(md not incorp)” is added to the amendment history.

Endnote 2—Abbreviation key

Endnote 3—Legislation history

Endnote 4—Amendment history