EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery Management Plan 2002

HIMIF 2010/2011 TAC D9 Determination

The purpose of HIMIF 2010/2011 TAC D9 Determination is to determine the total allowable catch (TAC) for target species and catch limits for bycatch species within the Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) Fishery for the 2010/2011 season. The target species are Patagonian Toothfish and Mackerel Icefish.

Section 17 of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) provides for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority to determine plans of management for a fishery.

Paragraph 17(6)(aa) of the Act provides that a plan of management may determine, or provide for AFMA to determine, the fishing capacity for a fishery measured by that method or those methods permitted for the fishery or a part of the fishery in respect of a particular period or periods.

Background

Heard Island and McDonald Islands are external territories of Australia located in the Southern Indian Ocean about 4,000 km south-west of Perth. The islands lie within the Antarctic Convergence. The waters surrounding the islands out to 200 nautical miles are part of the Australian Fishing Zone which is managed by AFMA.

The Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery Management Plan 2002 (the Management Plan) provides that access to the HIMI Fishery is limited to those operators holding statutory fishing rights granted under the Management Plan.

SFRs granted under the Management Plan allow a quantity of Patagonian Toothfish or Mackerel Icefish to be taken in the HIMI Fishery. Under the Management Plan, a person must hold at least 25.5% of the total SFRs to fish in the HIMI Fishery. The weight allocated to an SFR for each target species and fishing year is worked out by dividing the TAC for the species in the fishing year by the total number of SFRs in force for the species at the start of the fishing year.

Section 11 of the Management Plan provides for AFMA to determine the TAC and catch limits before the beginning of each fishing year, for each species of fish for the fishing year. Fishing year is defined in the Management Plan as a period of 12 months beginning on 1 December in any year.

Consultation

Section 11 of the Management Plan outlines the procedures for determining the TACs and catch limits, in particular the requirement to consult and consider the view of the Sub-Antarctic Resource Assessment Group (SARAG) and the Sub-Antarctic Fisheries Management Advisory Committee (SouthMAC).

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) prescribed the TACs and catch limits which were reviewed by SARAG and SouthMAC. SouthMAC and SARAG recommended to the AFMA Commission that the TACs and catch limits, which are adopted in this Determination, be approved. The approval was given by the AFMA Commission prior to the start of the season.

The TAC determined for the species Mackerel Icefish is significantly lower than that determined for the 2009/2010 season. This was expected and is consistent with the pattern of high recruitment variability seen in the stock previously. The TAC determined for Patagonian Toothfish and bycatch limits have not varied.

Regulation Impact Statement

The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) advised AFMA that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for the Determination on the basis that the Determination is of a minor or machinery nature that does not substantially alter existing arrangements (OBPR ID 12004).

Determination

Details of the Determination are set out below: