EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENT

Australian Fisheries Management Authority

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery Management Plan 2006

Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery Fishing Year Determination 2013

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.

The definition of fishing year in Section 3 of the Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery Management Plan 2006 (the Plan) provides for AFMA to determine the period of the fishing year.

The instrument determines the fishing year as the period starting on 15 April 2012 and ending on 30 April 2013 and for subsequent periods starting on 1 May in a year and ending on 30 April of the following year.

The Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery

The Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery (the Fishery) is managed under the Plan. Macquarie Island falls under Tasmanian jurisdiction and is located outside the Antarctic convergence approximately 1500 kilometres south east of Hobart.

The waters surrounding Macquarie Island out to three nautical miles are Tasmanian State waters and were closed to fishing and classified as a Nature Reserve under Tasmanian law in July 2000. Waters from the three nautical mile boundary out to the 200 nautical mile outer boundary of the Australian fishing zone are under Commonwealth jurisdiction and fishing in these waters is managed by AFMA under the Act.

Patagonian Toothfish is the target species. The Fishery is managed by a combination of output controls (that limit the amount of fish that can be taken from the Fishery) in the form of quota statutory fishing rights and input controls (that, for example, limit the number of boats and type of gear that can be used in the Fishery).

AFMA determines total allowable catches which are set to protect the target and non-target fish stocks. Strict operating conditions are imposed to minimise negative effects on the environment, including effects on non-target species.

Consultation

AFMA considered the views of the Sub-Antarctic Fisheries Management Advisory Committee (SouthMAC) and the Sub-Antarctic Resource Assessment Group 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 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.

Details of the Determination are set out below: