EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENT
Issued by the Authority
of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Fisheries Management (Northern Prawn Fishery Seasonal Closures) Amendment Direction No. 1 2023
Subsection 41A(2) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) provides that the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) may, after consultation with the Management Advisory Committee for the fishery, direct that fishing is not to be engaged in the fishery, or a particular part of the fishery, during a particular period or periods. Prior to making such a direction, AFMA must ensure that each holder of a fishing concession and scientific permit in the relevant fishery is provided with a copy of the direction seven (7) days before that direction takes effect. Fisheries Management (Northern Prawn Fishery Seasonal Closures) Direction 2021 (the Seasonal Closures Direction) is a direction that originally commenced on 1 April 2021 under subsection 41A(2) after consultation with the Northern Prawn Fishery Management Advisory Committee (NORMAC) and notification to concession holders of the Northern Prawn Fishery (the Fishery).
Subsection 41A(3) of the Management Act provides that AFMA may, at any time, vary or revoke a direction made under subsection 41A(2). Subsection 41(2B) also provides that in an emergency a direction may be given under subsection (2) without any consultation, provided a copy of the direction is sent to each holder of a fishing concession. However, AFMA has consulted with the Northern Prawn Fishing Industry Pty Ltd (NPFI) prior to making the Amendment Direction. The NPFI is the peak industry body and represents approximately 95 per cent of the concession holders in the Fishery. AFMA has met the requirements of Subsection 41A(4) of the Management Act, which stipulates that AFMA must ensure a copy of the varied direction is sent to each concession holder in the relevant fishery as soon as possible.
The Fisheries Management (Northern Prawn Fishery Seasonal Closures) Amendment Direction No. 1 2023 (the Amendment Direction) varies the Seasonal Closures Direction to provide for additional area closures for specified periods within the Fishery.
The Amendment Direction is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (the Legislation Act).
Objectives
The Amendment Direction varies the Seasonal Closures Direction by providing for additional area closures for specified times within the fishery. Naturally high variability and environmental dependency of tiger prawn recruitment results in significant variations in stock availability from year to year.
A reduction in fishing effort for the 2023 tiger prawn season was agreed to by the AFMA Commission through a shortened fishing season, closing early on 10 November (in Australian date (9 November UTC time)) rather than the usual 1 December, as the most effective way of protecting tiger prawn stocks and maximising profits in the fishery. A reduction in fishing effort for the 2023 tiger prawn season was agreed to by the AFMA Commission through a shortened fishing season, closing early on 10 November (Australian date – 9 November UTC time) rather than the usual 1 December, as the most effective way of protecting tiger prawn stocks and maximising profits in the fishery. While some of the indicators improved in 2022 (increase to recruitment indices, fuel prices reduced), continuing with a similar precautionary approach to 2022 was recommended by the NPRAG and NORMAC as the stock trends are still concerning and uncertainties around the maximum economic yield (MEY) trajectory from the fishery’s bioeconomic stock assessment model remain.
Background on the Fishery
The Fishery is an area of waters that extends from the coastline to the edge of the Australian Fishing Zone (200 nautical miles offshore) north of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Fishing in the Fishery is for prawns and four major ecologically related species (namely squid, scampi, bugs and scallops). There are two fishing seasons in the Fishery. The area of the Fishery overlaps the areas of a number of fisheries for other species that are managed by Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The Fishery is managed by limiting the amount of fishing effort under the Northern Prawn Fishery Management Plan 1995. These limitations are known commonly as input controls and are used in the Fishery to address both the biological and economic objectives of the Fishery. The specific types of inputs that are controlled in the Fishery are the amount of fishing time (limited within the fishing seasons), the amounts and types of fishing equipment and the number of boats.
Consultation
Variations made under subsection 41A(3) of the Management Act do not require AFMA to consult. However, consistent with section 17 of the Legislation Act, AFMA consulted with the NPFI prior to making the Amendment Direction. The NPFI supports the making of the Amendment Direction.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Impact Analysis (OIA) has advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required for this instrument, consistent with the listed in Table 1 of the OIA’s Approved Carve-outs as at 1 March 2023 for AFMA (OIA Reference Number 14421) for instruments of a minor or machinery nature.
Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
This legislative instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in the Attachment A.
Direction
Details of the Amendment Direction are set out below:
Section 1 Provides that the name of the instrument is the Fisheries Management (Northern Prawn Fishery Seasonal Closures) Amendment Direction No. 1 2023.
Section 2 Provides that the instrument commences on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 3 Provides that the instrument is made under subsection 41A(3) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991.
Section 4 Gives effect to Schedule 1.
Schedule 1 Schedule 1 outlines the amendments to the Fisheries Management (Northern Prawn Fishery Seasonal Closures) Direction 2021.
Item 1 of
Schedule 1 Omits subsection 11(3) which is no longer applicable and replaces with an updated provision that provides that fishing is not to be engaged in the area defined in Schedule 1 of the fishery during the period commencing at 2200 hours UTC on 9 November 2023 and ending at 2200 hours UTC on 30 November 2023.
Item 2 of
Schedule 1 Inserts subsection 11(4) which provides that fishing is not to be engaged in the area defined in Schedule 2 of the fishery during the period commencing at 2230 hours UTC on 9 November 2023 and ending at 2230 hours UTC on 30 November 2023.
ATTACHMENT A