EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Managing Director
of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Northern Prawn Fishery Management Plan 1995
Direction No. NPFD 108
First Season Closures
The Direction is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Subsection 17(5A) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) provides, inter alia, that a plan of management made under the Management Act may provide for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), after such consultation as set out in the plan of management, to direct that fishing is not to be engaged in in the fishery, or a particular part of the fishery, during a particular period or periods.
Subsection 17(5B) of the Management Act provides that a direction under Subsection 17(5A) in relation to a particular part of the fishery may identify the part concerned in any way or ways, including by reference to a particular area, a particular species or type of fish, a particular kind or quantity of fishing equipment, a particular method of fishing, or any combination of the above.
Subsection 25(3) of the Plan provides that, before AFMA issues a direction, it must consult with the Northern Prawn Fishery Management Advisory Committee (NORMAC) about the content of the direction unless the direction is issued in circumstances of an emergency.
The 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 4 major ecologically related species (namely squid, scampi, bugs and scallops). There are 2 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 Plan to fish in the fishery (operators). These limitations are known generically as input controls and are used in the fishery to address both biological and economic objectives for 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.
Direction No. NPFD 108 replaces Direction No. NPFD 101. It establishes closures in specified areas of the fishery. The Direction sets out closure boundaries and prevents fishing in six specific areas within the fishery to protect spawning and small prawns during the first fishing season and a broader mid-season closure to protect stock prior to and during spawning periods.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is not mandatory on the basis that the Direction is of a minor or machinery nature and does not substantially alter existing arrangements (ID 8315).
Consultation
AFMA consulted with the Northern Prawn Fisheries Management Advisory Committee (NORMAC) prior to making the Direction and NORMAC supports the making of the Direction.
The Act does not specify any condition as needing to be met before the power to make the Direction may be exercised.
Direction NPFD 108 commences on day after registration with the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Details of the Direction are set out below:
Clause 1 Clause 1 provides for the Direction to be cited as Direction No. NPFD 108.
Clause 2 Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the Direction.
Clause 3 Clause 3 states to whom the Direction applies.
Clause 4 Clause 4 sets out the period of application of this Direction.
Clause 5 Clause 5 defines certain terms used in the Direction and provides that terms used in the Direction that are defined for the purposes of the Plan have the same meanings as they have in the Plan. The note indicates that terms defined in the Management Act have the same meaning in the Direction.
Clause 6 Clause 6 prohibits commercial fishing in areas of the fishery detailed in Schedules 1 to 8, during certain periods as set out in the table.
Clause 7 Clause 7 revokes Direction No. NPFD 101.
Schedules 1 to 8 describe the areas that are closed to fishing referred to in clause 6.
Schedule 9 describes the exempt transit corridor areas referred to in clause 7.
Schedule 10 describes the protocols for applications for exemptions to Clause 6.
NPFD 108