EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENT

Issued by the Authority of the

Australian Fisheries Management Authority

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Northern Prawn Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 159

The Direction is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

Subsection 41A(2) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) provides, inter alia, that Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) may, after such consultation as set out in subsection 41A(2), direct that fishing is not to be engaged in the fishery, or a particular part of the fishery, during a particular period or periods.

Subsection 41A(2) also provides that, before AFMA issues a Direction, it must consult with the management advisory committee for the fishery, the Northern Prawn Fishery Management Advisory Committee (NORMAC), about the content of the Direction unless the Direction is issued in circumstances of an emergency. Under the current trial of co-management arrangements AFMA must also consult with Northern Prawn Fishery Industry Pty Ltd (NPFI) on all operational matters for the fishery, including Directions. This is outlined in the co-management policy and memorandum of understanding between AFMA and NPFI and has been endorsed by NORMAC.

The Fishery

The Northern Prawn Fishery (the Fishery) extends from the northern coast of Western Australia, the coast of the Northern Territory and the coast of Queensland in the Gulf of Carpentaria, to the outer limit of the Australian Fishing Zone.  The Fishery is for prawns and four major ecologically related species (namely squid, scampi, bugs and scallops).  There are two fishing seasons in the Fishery, bounded by closures.   The area of the Fishery overlaps the areas of a number of fisheries for other species that are managed by the States and the Territory.

The Fishery is managed by limiting the amount of fishing effort that is employed by the persons permitted by the Northern Prawn Fishery Management Plan 1995 (the Plan) to fish in the Fishery (operators).  These limitations are known generically as input controls and are used in the Fishery to address both the biological and economic objectives of the Fishery.   The specific types of inputs that are controlled in the Fishery are the amount of fishing time (limited by closures of all or parts of the Fishery), the amounts and types of fishing equipment, the number of boats in the fishery and the specifications of those boats.

The Direction

Northern Prawn Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 159 (the Direction) closes an area of the fishery to fishing while allowing for night time fishing in another area of the fishery. 

The Direction allows for the targeting of tiger prawns during night time hours while also enforcing mid season closures for certain areas of the fishery. 

Schedule 2 provides for an exemption for the area closed in the Direction described at Schedule 1 to allow for navigating through the closed area.  Exemptions will always be approved where navigation is required because of boat breakdown, distress, medical emergency, cyclone or weather warning, or to access an anchorage where no transit corridor has been provided. 

The Direction revokes and replaces Northern Prawn Fishery (Closures) Directions No. 156 and No. 157 which provided for pre season area closures and closures for the first fishing season (banana prawn season).

Regulation Impact Statement

The Office of Best Practice Regulation advised that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for this Direction 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. 

Consultation

AFMA consulted with the NPFI prior to making the Direction; NPFI supports the making of the Direction.

Details of the Direction are set out below:

Clause 1 Provides for the Direction to be cited as Northern Prawn Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 159.

Clause 2 Provides that the Direction commences on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Clause 3 Provides that the Direction ceases at 2200 hours on 31 December 2012.

Clause 4  Provides that a term used in the Direction and in the Plan has the same meaning in the Direction as in the Plan.

Clause 5 States to whom the Direction applies.

Clause 6  Provides for prohibitions of fishing in certain areas of the fishery at certain times.

Clause 7 Provides for an exemption to the prohibition in Clause 6.3 to allow for navigating in the area prescribed at Schedule 2.

Clause 8 Revokes Northern Prawn Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 156 and Northern Prawn Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 157.

Schedule 1 Describes one of the areas where fishing is prohibited under the Direction.

Schedule 2 Describes the exempt area where boats may navigate with fishing gear stowed.