Declaration of an Approved Wildlife Trade Operation – South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery, December 2023

Declaration of an Approved Wildlife Trade Operation – South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery, December 2023

made under section 303FN of the

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Compilation No. 3

Compilation date: 26 November 2025

Includes amendments: F2025N00929

About this compilation

This compilation

This is a compilation of the Declaration of an Approved Wildlife Trade Operation – South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery, December 2023 that shows the text of the law as amended and in force on 26 November 2025 (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

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Self‑repealing provisions

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COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

DECLARATION OF AN APPROVED WILDLIFE TRADE OPERATION – SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MARINE SCALEFISH FISHERY, DECEMBER 2023

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 Primary Industries and Regions South Australia 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 South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery as defined in the management regime in force under the:

• Fisheries Management Act 2007 (SA)
• Fisheries Management (Marine Scalefish Fisheries) Regulations 2017 (SA)
• Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA)
• Fisheries Management (Fish Processor) Regulations 2017 (SA)
• Management plan for the South Australian Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery 2013,

but not including:

1.     specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 209 of the EPBC Act (Australia’s List of Migratory Species), or
2.    specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 248 of the EPBC Act (Australia’s List of Marine Species), or
3.     specimens that belong to eligible listed threatened species, as defined under section 303BC of the EPBC Act, or
4.    specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 303CA of the EPBC Act (Australia’s CITES List), except for smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena), dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) and copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus)

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:

1.               is valid until 7 December 2026 and
2.              is subject to the conditions applied under section 303FT specified in Schedule 1.

Notes: 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.

Schedule 1

Declaration of the harvest operations of the South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery as an approved Wildlife Trade Operation, December 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 Victorian Corner Inlet Fishery:

Condition 1:

Operation of the South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery must be carried out in accordance with the management plan for the South Australian Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery 2013 in force under the Fisheries Management Act 2007 (SA) and the Fisheries Management (Marine Scalefish Fisheries) Regulations 2017 (SA), the Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA) and the Fisheries Management (Fish Processor) Regulations 2017 (SA).

Condition 2:

The Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia must inform the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water of any intended material changes to the South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery management arrangements that may affect the assessment against which Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 decisions are made.

Condition 3:

The Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia 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 Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia must produce and present reports on the South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery, including progress against all Part 13A conditions, to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water by 13 December annually, with the first annual report due by 13 December 2024 as per Appendix B of the Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries – 2nd Edition. Annual reports must include details of the performance of any stock rebuilding or ecological risk management strategies.

Condition 5

The South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions must:

a) By 5 June 2026 implement vessel monitoring systems on all Marine Scalefish Fishery vessels including geofences around sea lion colonies. If, due to the ongoing impacts of the harmful algal bloom that began in 2025, the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions have been unable to implement vessel monitoring systems on all Marine Scalefish Fishery vessels, they must instead provide an update on their progress to date.

b) By 5 June 2026 implement electronic logbook reporting across the Marine Scalefish Fishery to support reporting of bycatch and discards. If, due to the ongoing impacts of the harmful algal bloom that began in 2025, the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions have been unable to implement electronic logbook reporting across the Marine Scalefish Fishery, they must instead provide an update on their progress to date.

c) By 30 June 2026, review bycatch and discard reporting measures to determine whether the information collected sufficiently and reliably demonstrates accurate reporting of all catch (including bycatch and discards) and protected species (particularly CITES listed Chondrichthyes) interaction data.

d) By 30 June 2026, the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions must provide advice to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the review findings and any measures applied.

Condition 6:

Consistent with Principle 1 of the Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries – 2nd Edition and the precautionary principle, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia must:

1.       ensure the rebuilding strategies for snapper (once developed/fishery is opened) and southern garfish remain publicly available on the Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia’s website and implemented until the stocks are assessed and classified as ‘sustainable’.
2.       maintain, adopt, or implement management arrangements that prevent the overfishing of snapper and southern garfish.
3.       report any changes to, and performance against, the rebuilding strategies to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water as per the annual report requirements specified in Condition 4.

Condition 7

The South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions must:

a) by 5 June 2026, require that all catch of CITES listed species taken in the South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery are recorded to a species level, and species‑specific discards where possible, 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. If, due to the ongoing impacts of the harmful algal bloom that began in 2025, the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions have been unable to implement species‑level reporting for CITES listed species caught in the Marine Scalefish Fishery, they must instead provide an update on their progress to date.

b) by 30 June 2025, develop identification resources for Chondrichthyes species found in the Marine Scalefish Fishery and distribute to fishers to assist with accurate species‑specific reporting.

Condition 8

The South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) must:

1.       monitor large mesh net usage and provide an annual report on large mesh gill net use, including the number of days of large mesh net fishing by marine fishing area, and catch data summary. If changes in large mesh net effort are identified, PIRSA to undertake risk assessment and implement management changes where necessary.

PIRSA to maintain management measures directed toward reducing and managing the impact of fishing activity on Australian sea lions:

1.       Continue to monitor and review the adequacy of its Australian sea lion interaction mitigation management measures, in consultation with relevant stakeholders.
2.       Include an effort report within the annual reports, outlining effort using large mesh nets, particularly in ‘high risk blocks’ of the fishery.

Condition 9

The South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions must:

1.       By 30 June 2024, report on the findings of FRDC project 2019‑044 Quantifying post‑release survival and movement of Snapper (Chrysophrys auratus): Informing strategies to engage the fishing community in practices to enhance the sustainability of an important multi‑sector fishery, and any subsequent changes to management arrangements.
2.       By 30 June 2024, report on the findings of FRDC project 2019‑046 Cost‑effective, non‑destructive solutions to developing a pre‑recruit index for Snapper, and any subsequent changes to management arrangements.

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

Endnote 5—Editorial changes

In preparing this compilation for registration, the following kinds of editorial change(s) were made under the Legislation Act 2003.

Schedule 1 (Condition 7)

Kind of editorial change

Give effect to the misdescribed amendment as intended and correct a typographical error

Details of editorial change

The Declaration of an Approved Wildlife Trade Operation – South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery, November 2025 provides as follows:

In Condition 7, delete the words

a) by 15 January 2026, require that all catch of CITES listed species taken in the South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery are recorded to a species level, and species specific discards where possible, 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.

and replace with the words

a) by 5 June 2026, require that all catch of CITES listed species taken in the South Australian Marine Scalefish Fishery are recorded to a species level, and species specific discards where possible, 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. If, due to the ongoing impacts of the harmful algal bloom that began in 2025, the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions have been unable to implement species‑level reporting for CITES listed species caught in the Marine Scalefish Fishery, they must instead provide an update on their progress to date.

In the text to be omitted and substituted, a hyphen is missing between “species” and “specific”.

This compilation was editorially changed to apply the amendment to Condition 7 of Schedule 1 to give effect to the misdescribed amendment as intended and to insert a hyphen between “species” and “specific” in Condition 7 of Schedule 1 to correct the typographical error.