Declaration of an Approved Wildlife Trade Operation – Queensland Line Fishery (Reef), March 2025

Overview

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) was enacted to address the need for comprehensive protection of the environment, particularly with respect to matters of national environmental significance. This Act was introduced by the Commonwealth Parliament and is intended to provide a framework for the protection and management of the environment, including biodiversity, and to facilitate sustainable development through integrated policy and planning. The legislative instrument under discussion modifies the declaration of an approved wildlife trade operation for the Queensland Line Fishery (Reef) to ensure compliance with updated stock assessment requirements for saddletail snapper. The policy objective here is to maintain sustainable fish stocks by ensuring timely and accurate stock assessments, which are crucial for preventing overfishing and supporting the long-term health of marine ecosystems.

Scope and Application

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) applies to various entities and activities that have a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance. In this instance, the legislation is used to modify the declaration of an approved wildlife trade operation for the Queensland Line Fishery (Reef), governed by several Queensland fisheries acts and regulations. This alteration pertains specifically to the management and monitoring of the saddletail snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus) stock, ensuring sustainable fishing practices. The jurisdictional reach of this act is national, as it is a Commonwealth Act, but it extends its influence to state-managed fisheries by requiring compliance with certain conditions and timelines. The exclusions and exemptions within the EPBC Act are not explicitly detailed in this declaration, but they generally pertain to activities that do not significantly impact the protected matters, which are defined under the Act. The Act also allows for the extension or restriction of its application through subordinate instruments, such as regulations and determinations, which may provide further specificity on operational details and compliance requirements.

Key Provisions

The operative sections of this notifiable instrument (F2025N00247) relate to the variation of the approved wildlife trade operation for the Queensland Line Fishery (Reef) under section 303FT of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Specifically, the declaration dated 17 January 2024 is amended to change Condition 5 in Schedule 1 of that declaration (section 303FT(7)(b)). The previous requirement for the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QDAF) to publish an updated stock assessment for saddletail snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus) by 31 July 2025 is replaced with a new set of obligations for the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. The amended Condition 5 now mandates that the Queensland Department of Primary Industries must provide the results of an updated stock assessment for saddletail snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus) to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water by 5 December 2025. Additionally, the department must publish the updated stock assessment by 31 March 2026. Until the stock assessment is completed, the department is required to monitor catches and take immediate action to avoid overfishing if the stock is found to reach the limit reference point, which is 20% unfished biomass as defined in the harvest strategy for the Queensland Line Fishery (Reef). The obligations imposed on the Queensland Department of Primary Industries are significant. They must ensure the timely provision and publication of the updated stock assessment, and they must continuously monitor catches to prevent overfishing until the stock assessment is finalised. These obligations are designed to maintain the sustainability of the saddletail snapper population and to comply with the EPBC Act and its associated regulations. Breaching the obligations set out in Condition 5 of the amended declaration could have serious consequences. Under the EPBC Act, non-compliance with the conditions of an approved wildlife trade operation can lead to a range of civil and criminal penalties. The specific penalties depend on the nature and severity of the breach, but can include fines up to the maximum statutory limits, which for corporations can be up to $210,000 per breach, and for individuals, up to $42,000 per breach. Additionally, there may be other enforcement actions, such as the suspension or revocation of the approved wildlife trade operation, which could have significant economic and operational impacts on the parties involved.