EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENT
Issued by the Authority of the
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
NPF Direction No. 146
First Season Closures
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 s41A(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 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.
Section 22(5) of the Management Act provides that AFMA may specify a condition to which a fishing right is subject.
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 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 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.
The Direction
The Direction sets out closure boundaries and prevents fishing in specific areas within the fishery to protect spawning and small prawns during the first fishing season as well as a broader mid-season closure to protect stock prior to and during spawning periods.
The Direction revokes Direction No. 144.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised that a Regulation Impact Statement or quantification of compliance costs are not required on the basis that the Direction is of a minor or machinery nature and does not substantially alter existing arrangements. The OBPR considers that the impacts of amendments will be low (ID 12423).
Consultation
AFMA consulted with Northern Prawn Fishing Industry Pty Ltd (NPFI) prior to making the Direction; NPFI supports the making of the Direction.
Details of the Direction are set out below:
Clause 1 Clause 1 provides for the Direction to be cited as NPF Direction No. 146.
Clause 2 Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the Direction.
Clause 3 Clause 3 sets out the period of application of this Direction.
Clause 4 Clause 4 states to whom the Direction applies.
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 11, during certain periods as set out in the table.
Clause 7 Clause 7 provides for an exemption to clause 6 for persons who navigate in an exempt transit corridor and for persons carrying out gear trials in accordance with NPF Direction No. 149.
Clause 8 Clause 8 provides that it is a condition of all fishing concessions to which this Direction applies that the holder, or a person acting on behalf of the holder, complies with this Direction.
Clause 9 Clause 9 revokes NPF Direction No. 144.
Schedules 1 to 11 describe the areas that are closed to fishing referred to in clause 6.
Schedule 12 describes the exempt transit corridor areas referred to in clause 7.1
.