COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
DECLARATION OF AN APPROVED WILDLIFE TRADE OPERATION – QUEENSLAND AQUARIUM FISH FISHERY, NOVEMBER 2023
I, BELINDA JAGO, Branch Head, Ocean and Wildlife, 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 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)
- Fisheries Quota Declaration 2019 (Qld)
- Marine Parks Act 2004 (Qld)
- Marine Parks Regulations 2019 (Qld)
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (Cth)
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 2019 (Cth),
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), Winghead shark (Eusphyra blochii), 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), Scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini), Great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran), and Smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena),
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 2024 and;
b) is subject to the conditions applied under section 303FT specified in the Schedule.
Dated this 15th day of November 2023
Belinda Jago
………….…….…………………………………
Delegate of the Minister for the Environment and Water
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.
Declaration of the harvest operations of the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery as an approved wildlife trade operation, November 2023
ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS (section 303FT)
Relating to the harvesting of fish specimens that are, or are derived from, fish or invertebrates, other than specimens of species listed under Part 13 and Part 13A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), taken in the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery:
Condition 1:
Operation of the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery must be carried out in accordance with management regime specified in Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority issued permits, as well as in the following:
· Fisheries Act 1994 (Qld)
· Fisheries (General) Regulation 2019 (Qld)
· Fisheries (Commercial Fisheries) Regulation 2019 (Qld)
· Fisheries Declaration 2019 (Qld)
· Fisheries Quota Declaration 2019 (Qld)
· Marine Parks Act 2004 (Qld)
· Marine Parks Regulations 2019 (Qld)
· Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (Cth)
· Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 2019 (Cth).
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 produce and present reports to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water annually as per Appendix B of the Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries - 2nd Edition.
Condition 5:
By September 2023 the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must undertake and publish an ecological risk assessment using appropriate methodology for the fishery. This assessment should encompass all ecosystem components and where risks are identified, recommend measures to address these risks.
In lieu of this revised ecological risk assessment and mitigation, high risks identified in the existing (2008) risk assessment and any other processes must be addressed through the harvest strategy for the fishery.
Condition 6:
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must:
a) From 1 July 2022, ensure the catch of all listed EPBC species in the Aquarium Fish Fishery, for example, Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks and Syngnathids, are reported to species level.
b) By December 2022, provide the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water with a Data Collection Improvement Plan for the fishery. The Plan must review current data collection requirements in the fishery and identify where possible, improvements to ensure catch is reported to species level.
c) If species are not reported to species-level, establish a plan to ensure that catches of these species are regularly monitored and managed in a precautionary way.
d) By September 2023, begin implementing its Data Collection Improvement Plan for the Aquarium Fish Fishery.
Condition 7:
By 30 June 2022 the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must implement a harvest strategy for the Aquarium Fish Fishery. The harvest strategy must include monitoring and review mechanisms, and management triggers to ensure all species are managed sustainably.
Condition 8:
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must:
a) Ensure the quantity of all hammerhead sharks landed by the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery is accommodated within the catch limits defined for the species in the Fisheries Declaration 2019 (Qld).
b) Ensure the quantity of all hammerhead sharks landed by the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery is reported to the CITES Scientific Authority of Australia, as part of the annual reporting referred to in Condition 4. Catch should be reported by estimated weight and number of individuals and locations of harvest.
Condition 9:
The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries must ensure that all catch, including discards, of CITES listed species taken in the Queensland Aquarium Fish Fishery is recorded to a species level and that these catches are reported to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water as part of the annual reporting requirement referred to in Condition 4.