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. 2 2025
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, under subsection 41A(2A) of the Management Act, 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. The Fisheries Management (Northern Prawn Fishery Seasonal Closures) Direction 2021 (the Seasonal Closures Direction) is a direction that 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). Where a direction is varied under subsection 41A(3) of the Management Act, the consultation requirements in subsection 41A(2) and the notification requirements in 41(2A) of the Management Act do not apply. However, AFMA 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. Under subsection 41A(4) of the Management Act, 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. 2 2025 (the Amendment Direction) varies the Seasonal Closures Direction under subsection 41A(3) of the Management Act to provide for additional closures for specified periods within the Fishery. In particular, the Amendment Direction varies the closure period by providing for additional closure periods for the remainder of the 2025 tiger prawn season to protect tiger prawn stocks and to maximise net economic returns to the Australian community. The Amendment Direction closes the Fishery at 2200 hours UTC on 19 November 2025.
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.
In July 2025, the AFMA Commission agreed to a Total Allowable Effort (TAE) of 4,014 nominal fishing days for the 2025 tiger prawn fishing season. The tiger prawn (second) season usually extends from 1 August to 30 November each year, unless a maximum economic yield (MEY) catch trigger is breached. The MEY trigger results in a fishery closure at the end of week 16 if the average fleet catches are below 350kg/boat/day during weeks 12 and 13.
On 4 November 2025, it was determined that the week 12 and 13 catches were below the MEY catch trigger, prompting a season closure on 20 November (end of week 16) instead of the usual 30 November.
NPRAG and NORMAC previously endorsed the tiger prawn season MEY trigger, to provide protection of tiger prawn stocks and maximising profits in the fishery, which was supported by the AFMA Commission.
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 2003, AFMA consulted with the NPFI prior to making the Amendment Direction. The NPFI supports the making of the Amendment Direction.
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.
Details of the Amendment 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. 2 2025.
Section 2 Provides that the instrument commences on the day it is registered 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 Provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.
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 spent and substitutes it with a new provision that states 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 19 November 2025 and ending at 2200 hours UTC on 30 November 2025.
Item 2 of
Schedule 1 Omits subsection 11(4) which is spent and substitutes it with a new provision that states that fishing is not to be engaged in the area defined in Schedule 2 of the fishery during the period commencing at 2200 hours UTC on 19 November 2025 and ending at 2230 hours UTC on 30 November 2025.
ATTACHMENT A
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Fisheries Management (Northern Prawn Fishery Seasonal Closures) Amendment Direction No. 2 2025
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
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 Northern Prawn 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. Subsection 41A(3) of the Management Act provides that AFMA may, at any time, vary or revoke a direction made under subsection 41A(2).
The Fisheries Management (Northern Prawn Fishery Seasonal Closures) Amendment Direction No. 2 2025 (Amendment Direction) varies the Fisheries Management (Northern Prawn Fishery Seasonal Closures) Direction 2021 to provide for additional closures for specified periods within the Fishery.
In particular, the Amendment Direction varies the closures by providing for additional closure periods for the remainder of the 2025 tiger prawn season to protect tiger prawn stocks and to maximise net economic returns to the Australian community. The Amendment Direction closes the fishery area at 2200 hours UTC on 19 November 2025.
Human rights implications
This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.