EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Fisheries Management (Sedentary Organisms) Proclamation 2015
Legislative Authority
The Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) provides the legislative framework governing the management of Commonwealth fisheries. The Act includes the objectives that guide fisheries management arrangements, a requirement to hold fishing concessions in order to be allowed to fish, and the surveillance and enforcement powers available to the Commonwealth in ensuring compliance with the Act.
Subsection 12(1) of the Act provides that the Governor‑General may, by Proclamation, declare that the Act applies to sedentary organisms that are part of the Australian continental shelf.
Purpose
Under subsections 12(2) and 12(3) of the Act, fishing for the declared sedentary organisms is prohibited unless it is authorised by a fishing concession.
The Fisheries Management (Sedentary Organisms) Proclamation 2015 (the Proclamation) repealed and replaced the Proclamation made on 12 December 1995 and applies to all of Australia’s continental shelf, including the ‘extended continental shelf’ that extends beyond Australia’s exclusive economic zone. As a result the Proclamation provides a more extensive list of sedentary organisms than the former Proclamation and reflects knowledge of the sedentary species known to exist on Australia’s extended continental shelf.
Background
By application of subsections 12(2) and 12(3) of the Act, fishing for the declared sedentary organisms, by both Australian and foreign fishers, is prohibited, except as authorised by a fishing concession granted under the Act. Accordingly, the inclusion in the Proclamation of a comprehensive list of species enables the Australian Fisheries Management Authority to manage exploitation of those organisms in the same way that it manages the exploitation of fisheries resources more broadly.
The Proclamation applies to all of Australia’s continental shelf, including the ‘extended continental shelf’ beyond 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline (which therefore extends beyond Australia’s exclusive economic zone). The Proclamation is the first Proclamation of sedentary species since Australia proclaimed the outer limits of its extended continental shelf in 2012, pursuant to the recommendation of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in 2008.
Consultation
The following agencies were consulted during the development of the proposed Proclamation:
- the Department of the Environment;
- the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
- Geo-Science Australia;
- the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Consultative Forum, which includes representatives of industry and Non-Government Organisations;
- the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR reference 19203);
- the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, which provided legislative drafting services for the drafting of the regulations; and
- a number of scientific experts, including from the Queensland Museum, the Western Australian Museum, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industry Research Organisation; and the Northern Territory Department of Fisheries and Primary Industry.
The new Proclamation has minimal impact on the Australian fishing industry as it has no application to State or Territory managed fisheries, and those who fish in Commonwealth managed fisheries, under the Act, generally do not fish for sedentary species.
The details of the new Proclamation are set out in Attachment A.
The new Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The new Proclamation is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out Attachment B.
Attachment A
Details of the Fisheries Management (Sedentary Organisms) Proclamation 2015
Section 1 – Name of Proclamation
This section provides that the Proclamation is to be cited as the Fisheries Management (Sedentary Organisms) Proclamation 2015.
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides for the Proclamation to commence on 1 October 2015.
Section 3 – Authority
This section provides that the Proclamation is made under subsection 12(1) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991.
Section 4 – Schedules
This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to the Proclamation is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule has effect according to its terms.
Section 5 – Definitions
This section provides that in the Proclamation ‘Act’ means the Fisheries Management Act 1991.
Section 6 – Sedentary organisms to which the Act applies – animals
This section provides that an organism is declared to be a sedentary organism to which the Act applies if the organism belongs to:
(a) a phylum specified in column 1 of an item in the table in section 6; and
(b) if one or more sub-categories of the phylum is specified in column 2 of that item – one of the specified sub-categories.
Section 7 – Sedentary organisms to which the Act applies – plants
This section provides that an organism is declared to be a sedentary organism to which the Act applies if the organism belongs to:
(a) a division specified in column 1 of an item of the table in section 7; and
(b) if one or more sub-categories of the division is specified in column 2 of that item – one of the specified sub-categories.
Attachment B