EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1982 No.127
Issued by the Authority of the Minister of State for Primary Industry
FISHERIES REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
The principal purpose of these amendments is to authorize the collection, from the masters of fishing boats, of information about fishing activities. The information will be collated and used to estimate the size and nature of the fish resources of the Australian fishing zone.
The amendments also update the existing Regulation 15, which provides for the furnishing of returns by the operators of prawn processing establishments in northern Australia, and empower the Secretary to the Department of Primary Industry to approve application forms for the grant, transfer and endorsement of licences.
The regulations concerning the collection of information about fishing activities authorize the making of a logbook in relation to any fishery. The logbook will be made available at places that will be notified in local newspapers, and will be operative for a fixed period of time. During that period, all operators in the fishery must fill in the logbook pages and provide them to officers of the Department of Primary Industry in the manner described in the logbook. There will be a penalty of $200 for failing to fill in the information or furnish it to the Department.