COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Revocation of Accreditation of a Plan, Regime or Policy for the purposes of Part 13
Accreditation of a Plan, Regime or Policy for the purposes of Part 13 of the EPBC Act. Commonwealth Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery, June 2024
I, BELINDA JAGO, Branch Head, Ocean and Wildlife Branch, as Delegate of the Minister for the Environment and Water:
a) revoke the accreditation of the management regime for the Commonwealth Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery dated 10 November 2022, and
b) being satisfied that:
i) the management regime for the Commonwealth Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery, in force under the:
- Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Cth)
- Fisheries Management Regulations 2019 (Cth)
- Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery Management Plan 2005,
requires persons engaged in fishing under the management regime to take all reasonable steps to ensure that members of listed threatened species, listed migratory species, cetaceans and listed marine species are not killed or injured as a result of the fishing, and
ii) the fishery to which the management regime relates does not, or is not likely to, adversely affect:
a) the survival or recovery in nature of any listed threatened species, or
b) the conservation status of a listed migratory species, cetacean, or listed marine species or a population of that species,
accredit the management regime for Commonwealth Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery in force under the:
- Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Cth)
- Fisheries Management Regulations 2019 (Cth)
- Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery Management Plan 2005,
under sections 208A, 222A, 245 and 265 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) for the purposes of Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively of Part 13 of the EPBC Act.
This accreditation is subject to the following conditions under section 303AA of the EPBC Act:
Part 13 Condition A
By 19 February 2025, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority must:
a) conduct and complete an updated Ecological Risk Assessment for the Commonwealth Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery and provide a copy of the completed assessment to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The Ecological Risk Assessment must use data that reflects current management arrangements in the fishery, including fishing operation data collected since the implementation of electronic monitoring in the fishery.
b) continue to implement management actions to address and mitigate risks and impacts for species that are identified as high risk, including data collection for species that are assessed as high risk because of missing information.
Dated this 10th day of June 2024
Belinda Jago
..……………………….……..
Delegate of the Minister for the Environment and Water