EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority

Fisheries Management Act 1991

LOGBOOKS FOR FISHERIES AMENDMENT DETERMINATION 2019 (No. 1)

The determination is a legislative instrument for the purpose of the Legislation Act 2003.

Subsection 42(1) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) provides that: “AFMA may, by a written determination, in relation to a particular fishery, provide for holders of fishing concessions in respect of that fishery to keep and maintain logbooks containing information in respect of their activities in that fishery.”

Subsection 42(1A) of the Act provides that:

“Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a determination by AFMA in respect of a particular fishery may cover matters including:

(a)    The form and content of logbooks for that fishery to be kept by the concession holder; and…”

Subsection 42(1B) of the Act provides further detail in relation to the content of a logbook, as:

“The content of the logbook kept by the holder of a fishing concession in respect of a particular fishery, and of any return of information from such logbook, may extend to information in relation to:

(a)    the taking of fish under that concession and the sale or disposal of such fish; or

(b)   the carrying, landing, transhipping or transporting of fish taken under that fishing concession; or

(c)    the receipt or processing of fish taken under that fishing concession and the sale or disposal of fish so received or processed; or

(d)   the course, or position at regular intervals, inside or outside the outer limits of the AFZ, of boats to which the fishing concession relates; or

(e)    any other matter relevant to the fishing concession in that fishery that is specified in the determination.”

The Act does not specify any condition as needing to be met before the power to make the determination may be exercised.  Although the Act does not provide a specific power to amend or otherwise vary a determination made under subsection 42(1), this amending determination can be made under subsection 42(1) of the Act through application of subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. 

Background

The completion of a logbook is a requirement for fishers operating in fisheries managed by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA).  Logbooks are the primary source of data that AFMA collects on fishing activity. They provide essential data for the management of fisheries and are the primary source of data on fishing effort and fish catches for stock assessments.

Where a logbook is determined for a particular fishery under subsection 42(1), it becomes a condition of a fishing concession in that fishery that the holder of the fishing concession must comply with the requirements of the determination (see subsection 42(2)). 

Objectives

This instrument amends the form and content of the Catch Disposal Record logbook to be kept and maintained for concession holders in the Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fisheries (BSCZSF) and Southern Squid Jig Fishery (SSJF).

Consultation with stakeholders

The Office of Best Practice Regulations advised that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for this Determination consistent with minor regulatory changes (OBPR ID 25726).

With respect to changes to logbook requirements in the BSCZSF and SSJF, consultation was undertaken with the fishing industry and other relevant stakeholders between June 2019 and August 2019 through the Scallop Management Advisory Committee and directly with SSJF concession holders, who supported the changes.

This instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.  A full statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment A.

Determination

The details of this amendment determination are set out below:

Clause 1  provides that the instrument may be cited as the Logbooks for Fisheries Amendment Determination 2019 (No. 1).

Clause 2  provides that the instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Clause 3  provides the authority under which the Determination is made.

Clause 4 provides that each instrument specified in the Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule.

Schedule 1

Item 1 updates the reference to the current logbook for the BSCZSF. 

Item 2 updates the reference to the current logbook for the SSJF. 

Item 3 provides the reference to the gazetted logbook for the BSCZSF and SSJF.