Fisheries Management Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 5) 2000 No. 338
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 2000 No. 338
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Fisheries Management Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 5)
Subsection 168(1) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed and regulations necessary or convenient to be prescribed in carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Paragraph 168(2)(p) of the Act provides that regulations may be made prescribing short methods of reference to areas of the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ) specified in the regulations and the purposes for which those methods of reference may be used.
Section 4(1) of the Act defines a fishery as a class of activities by way of fishing, including activities identified by reference to amongst other things, an area of waters. Paragraph 4(4)(a) of the Act provides that for the purposes of the Act, in relation to a fishery or a managed fishery that is identified by reference to an area, a reference to activities in the fishery or in the managed fishery includes activities in that area. Section 32(1) of the Act provides that the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) may, upon application made in the approved form, grant to a person a fishing permit, authorising the use of a boat for fishing in a specified area of the AFZ or a specified fishery.
The Fisheries Management Regulations (the principal Regulations) prescribe matters in support of the Act, including short methods of reference to fisheries managed by AFMA. The purpose of the Fisheries Management Amendment Regulations (the proposed Regulations) is to insert a description of a new fishery into the principal Regulations. These fisheries are the Norfolk Island Offshore Demersal Finfish Fishery (NIODFF) and the Victorian Inshore Trawl Fishery (VITF).
The Norfolk Island Offshore Demersal Finfish Fishery is to include waters of the AFZ around Norfolk Island but excluding those waters inside a "box" around the island. The waters inside the box are to be managed as a separate fishery. AFMA intends to grant permits for the Norfolk Island Offshore Demersal Finfish Fishery in late 2000. The permits will be granted annually as part of a three-year exploratory program, in accordance with management arrangements that were developed through the preparation of an Exploratory Management Report. The Exploratory Management Report was provided to prospective applicants for fishing permits prior to the lodgement of applications for those permits. During the exploratory program competitive annual Total Allowable Catches will be used to manage the fishery.
A description of the NIODFF is inserted into the principal Regulations to reflect the management of the NIODFF as a formally managed fishery, and to provide a short method of reference for the fishery that will be referred to in the proposed Fishing Levy Regulations 2000 that will be made in December 2000.
The Victorian Inshore Trawl Fishery (VITF) is managed by the Commonwealth in accordance with Offshore Constitutional Settlement arrangements signed between Victoria and the Commonwealth in 1997. Since then the VITF has been managed as an informally managed fishery. This means that levy has not been collected from holders of a fishing permit for the VITF. However, VITF permits have been subject to management arrangements which are consistent with the adjacent South East Trawl Fishery (SETF). The majority of VITF permit holders are also SETF permit holders and in previous years the levy amount for the SETF has included the costs of managing the VITF.
It is intended that the VITF will be incorporated into the SETF area, and work has commenced on developing arrangements to allow this integration. However this requires an amendment to the SETF Management Plan and will not be effective for some time. In the meantime, AFMA has decided that levy is to be collected separately in relation to VITF permits in accordance with Commonwealth's Cost Recovery Policy.
A description of the VITF has therefore been inserted into the principal Regulations to reflect the management of the VITF as a formally managed fishery, and to provide a short method of reference for the fishery that will be referred to future Fishing Levy Regulations.
Details of the Regulations, which commenced on gazettal, are set out below:
Regulation 1 provides that the Regulations are named the Fisheries Management Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 5).
Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on gazettal.
Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the principal Regulations.
Schedule 1 Item 1 inserts a new reference to the area of the Norfolk Island Offshore Demersal Finfish Fishery into Part 2B (Fisheries) of the principal Regulations.
Schedule 1 Item 2 inserts a new reference to the area of the Victorian Inshore Trawl Fishery into Part 2B (Fisheries) of the principal Regulations
Schedule 1 Item 3 inserts a description of the area of the Norfolk Island Offshore Demersal Finfish Fishery.
Schedule 1 Item 4 inserts a description of the area of the Victorian Inshore Trawl Fishery.