EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the 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 2025
Section 17 of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the FM Act) provides for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to determine plans of management for a fishery.
Paragraph 17(6)(aa) of the FM Act provides that a plan of management for a fishery may determine, or provide for AFMA to determine, the fishing capacity, measured by that method or those methods, permitted for the fishery or 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 Management Plan) provides that before the beginning of each fishing year, AFMA must determine the minimum quota for trawl methods in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery (the Fishery), expressed as a percentage of statutory fishing rights for a fishing year. ‘Fishing year’ is defined in the section 3 of the Management Plan as a period of 12 months beginning on 1 December in any year.
The Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery (Trawl Fishing Capacity) Determination 2025 (the Determination) may apply to one or more fishing years and determines the trawl fishing capacity in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery for the fishing years commencing on 1 December 2025 and ending on 30 November of the following year until the year 2030.
The Determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
The Fishery
The Fishery includes external territories of Australia located in the Southern Indian Ocean about 4,000 km south-west of Perth. The islands lie within the Convention Area as described in the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.[i] The waters surrounding the islands out to 200 nautical miles are part of the Australian Fishing Zone, which is managed by AFMA.
The Management Plan provides that access to the Fishery is limited to those operators holding Statutory Fishing Rights (SFRs) granted under the FM Act. SFRs granted under the FM Act allow a quantity of Patagonian toothfish or Mackerel icefish to be taken in the Fishery. This 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
Subsection 11A of the Management Plan provides that AFMA must determine the minimum quota for trawl methods, expressed as a percentage of statutory fishing rights, for a fishing year.
AFMA also considered the views of the Sub-Antarctic Fisheries Management Advisory Committee (SouthMAC) in making the decision. The AFMA Commission considered that SouthMAC (comprising scientific, industry, conservation policy and management stakeholders) supported the Determination at SouthMAC’s meeting on 5 November 2025.
The AFMA Commission determined the trawl fishing capacity in the Fishery for the fishing years commencing on 1 December 2025 and ending on 30 November of the following year until the year 2030.
As required under subsection 11A of the Management Plan, before the beginning of the fishing year commencing on 1 December 2025, AFMA will give the holder of each statutory fishing right a notice of this Determination stating the determined minimum quota for trawl methods for the fishing year.
Impact Analysis
The Office of Impact Analysis advised that a detailed Impact Analysis is not required for this determination, which is consistent with the carve-out agreement in place to cover all regulatory changes of a minor or machinery nature (OIA reference no. OIA23-06107).
Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
AFMA assesses, under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, that this legislative instrument is compatible with human rights. AFMA’s Statement of Compatibility is attached as a supporting document.
The Commission’s Decision
At its meeting on 11-12 November 2025, the AFMA Commission determined the trawl fishing capacity in the Fishery for the fishing years commencing on 1 December 2025 and ending on 30 November of the following year until the year 2030. In making its decision, the Commission took into account each of the matters specified in subsection 11A of the Management Plan. The Commission is satisfied that the determination is consistent with AFMA’s obligation to pursue its statutory objectives, specified in section 3 of the FM Act and section 6 of the Fisheries Administration Act 1991 (the FA Act). The Commission considered that significant weight should be given to the objective of ensuring that the exploitation of fisheries resources is conducted in a manner consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development, which includes the exercise of the precautionary principle
(paragraphs 3(1)(b) of the FM Act and 6(b) of the FA Act).
Details of the Instrument are set out below:
Clause 1 Provides that the name of the Determination is the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery (Trawl Fishing Capacity) Determination 2025.
Clause 2 Provides that the Determination commences on 1 December 2025.
Clause 3 Provides that the Determination is made pursuant to paragraph 17(6) (aa) of the FM Act and
under section 11A of the Management Plan.
Clause 4 Defines the particular terms used in the Determination
Clause 5 Provides that the Determination ceases on 30 November 2030.
Clause 6 Specifies the minimum quota holding for trawl methods to be 25.5% of the statutory fishing rights held in the fishery for each trawler for each fishing year from 2025 to 2030.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery (Trawl Fishing Capacity) Determination 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
The Determination determines the minimum quota holding for trawl methods to be 25.5% of the statutory fishing rights held in the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery for each trawler for each fishing season commencing on 1 December 2025 and finishing on 30 November of the following year for fishing years until 2030.
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.
[i] Pursuant to Paragraph 15J(2)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003 this instrument incorporates the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources as it applies on the date this legislative instrument commences. This Convention could in 2025 be viewed free of charge on the Federal Register of Legislation at https://www.ccamlr.org/en/system/files/e-pt1_3.pdf