EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery Management Plan 2002
Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery Trawl Fishing Capacity Determination 2012
Section 17 of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) provides for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to determine plans of management for a fishery.
Paragraph (aa) of subsection 17(6) of the Act provides that a plan of management may determine, or provide for AFMA to determine, the fishing capacity, for a fishery measured by that method or those methods, permitted for the fishery or a part of the fishery in respect of a particular period or periods.
Section 11A of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery Management Plan 2002 (the Plan) provides that AFMA must determine the minimum quota for trawl methods, expressed as a percentage of statutory fishing rights for a fishing year.
The instrument determines the trawl fishing capacity in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery. The Determination ceases on 30 November 2012.
Background
The Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery (the Fishery) includes external territories of Australia located in the Southern Indian Ocean about 4,000 kilometres south-west of Perth. The islands lie within the Antarctic Convergence. The waters surrounding the islands out to 200 nautical miles are part of the Australian Fishing Zone which is managed by AFMA.
The Plan provides that access to the Fishery is limited to those operators holding statutory fishing rights (SFRs) granted under the Plan.
SFRs granted under the Plan allow a quantity of Patagonian Toothfish or Mackerel Icefish to be taken in the Fishery. The instrument determines the trawl fishing capacity by specifying the percentage of statutory fishing rights that must be held to operate a trawler in the fishery.
Consultation
AFMA considered the views of the Sub-Antarctic Fisheries Management Advisory Committee (SouthMAC) and the Sub-Antarctic Resource Assessment Group (SARAG) in making the decision. The AFMA decision supports the recommendation made by SouthMAC.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) advised that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for this Determination consistent with the agreement in place to cover all regulatory changes deemed to be of a minor or machinery nature.
Statement of Compatibility
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.
Details of the Determination are set out below:
Clause 1 | provides for the Determination to be cited as the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery Trawl Fishing Capacity Determination 2012. |
Clause 2 | provides that the Determination commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. |
Clause 3 | provides for the Determination to cease on 30 November 2012. |
Clause 4 | defines the particular terms used in the Determination. |
Clause 5 | specifies the minimum quota holding for trawl methods to be 25.5% of the statutory fishing rights held in the fishery for each trawler. |