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 South Australian Sardine Fishery, June 2022

Administered by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Legislation au F2022N00153 Not in force Notifiable Instrument

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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

South Australian Sardine Fishery, June 2022

 

I, ADAM SINCOCK, Principal Director, Wildlife Trade Office, as Delegate of the Minister for the Environment:

a)      revoke the accreditation of the management regime for the South Australian Sardine Fishery dated 7 March 2022, and

b)      being satisfied that:

i)        the South Australian Sardine Fishery, in accordance with the management arrangements specified in the Management Plan for the South Australian Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery 2014, in force under the Fisheries Management Act 2007 (SA); the Fisheries Management (Sardine Fishery) Regulations 2021 (SA); and the Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017, requires persons engaged in fishing under the management regime to take all reasonable steps to ensure that members of eligible 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 the South Australian Sardine Fishery, in accordance with the management arrangements specified in the Management Plan for the South Australian Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery 2014, in force under the Fisheries Management Act 2007 (SA); Fisheries Management (Sardine Fishery) Regulations 2021 (SA); and the Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017, 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.

Unless amended or revoked, this accreditation is subject to the following conditions applied under section 303AA:

Condition A:
The operation of the fishery must be carried out in accordance with the management arrangements specified in the Fisheries Management Act 2007 (SA); the Fisheries Management (Sardine Fishery) Regulations 2021 (SA); the Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017; and the Management Plan for the South Australian Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery 2014.

 

Condition B:
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia must inform the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment of any intended material changes to the South Australian Sardine Fishery management arrangements that may affect the assessment against which Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 decisions are made.

 

Condition C:
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia must inform the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment of any intended changes to fisheries legislation that may affect the legislative instruments relevant to this approval.

 

Condition D:
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia must produce and present reports to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment annually, as per Appendix B of the Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries - 2nd Edition

 

Condition E:
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia must ensure the most effective measures to mitigate or eliminate interactions with protected species are adopted in the South Australian Sardine Fishery.

 

This should include working with fishing operators and other relevant parties to consider and, where appropriate, trial any suitable technologies or practices identified in the global literature review of mitigation measures in small pelagic fisheries project (FRDC Project 2020-049).

 

Condition F:
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia must consider and respond to the outcomes of the “Assessment of the sustainability of common dolphin interactions with the South Australian Sardine Fishery” report (FRDC Project 2019-063), within 6 months of the final report becoming publicly available.

 

This should include an assessment of any required changes or improvements to existing fishery management arrangements and protected species mitigation/monitoring methods.

 

Condition G:
By April 2024, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia must implement suitable measures to ensure accurate information on protected species mortality levels is collected in the fishery and that underreporting is not occurring.

 

In satisfying this condition, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia must:

a)      by 16 December 2022, publish a plan detailing how it will respond to this issue, including any systems, controls, or management arrangements that will be implemented and associated timeframes. The plan will need to be made publicly available and a copy provided to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

b)      by April 2024, provide evidence that suitable systems have been implemented to ensure accurate information on protected species mortality levels is collected in the fishery and that underreporting is not occurring.

 

 

Dated this  28 day of June 2022

 

 

Adam Sincock

………………………..

Delegate of the Minister for the Environment

Overview

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) was introduced to provide for the protection of the environment, particularly with regard to matters of national environmental significance. The Act was enacted by the Commonwealth Parliament, with the overarching policy objective of promoting ecologically sustainable development through the protection of the environment. The 2022 revocation of accreditation of the management regime for the South Australian Sardine Fishery under the EPBC Act addresses the need to ensure that commercial fishing activities do not adversely affect listed threatened species, migratory species, cetaceans, and marine species. This revocation and subsequent conditions aim to safeguard the ecological integrity of marine ecosystems and ensure the sustainable management of fisheries.

Scope and Application

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) applies to various entities and activities across Australia that may impact matters of national environmental significance, including threatened species, migratory species, cetaceans, and listed marine species. In the context of the South Australian Sardine Fishery, the Act applies to the Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia as the managing entity, and to persons engaged in fishing under the management regime specified in the South Australian Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery Management Plan 2014. The Act's jurisdictional reach is national, as it is a Commonwealth Act, but this particular application is focused on the state of South Australia. The Act's scope includes the accreditation of management regimes for fisheries that must meet certain environmental standards and avoid adverse effects on protected species. This specific notifiable instrument involves the revocation and conditional accreditation of the South Australian Sardine Fishery management regime under sections 208A, 222A, 245, and 265 of the EPBC Act, subject to specific conditions aimed at ensuring compliance with environmental protection standards.

Key Provisions

The key provisions of the notifiable instrument F2022N00153, which pertains to the revocation of accreditation for the South Australian Sardine Fishery, are outlined in sections 208A, 222A, 245, and 265 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). These sections pertain to the accreditation of a management regime for the purposes of Part 13 of the EPBC Act. The instrument revokes the accreditation of the management regime for the South Australian Sardine Fishery dated 7 March 2022, and accredits the same regime under specific conditions aimed at ensuring ecological sustainability and protection of listed species. The obligations imposed by the Act on the parties involved include adherence to the management arrangements specified in the Fisheries Management Act 2007 (SA), the Fisheries Management (Sardine Fishery) Regulations 2021 (SA), the Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017, and the Management Plan for the South Australian Commercial Marine Scalefish Fishery 2014. The Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia is mandated to inform the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment of any material changes to the management arrangements or fisheries legislation. Additionally, the department must produce and present annual reports, consider and respond to sustainability assessments of dolphin interactions with the fishery, and implement measures to ensure accurate reporting of protected species mortality levels by April 2024. Under the EPBC Act, there are no explicit offences, penalties, or civil or criminal consequences detailed for breach of the conditions set out in the notifiable instrument. However, non-compliance with the conditions could potentially lead to further regulatory actions, including potential revocation of accreditation or other enforcement measures under the EPBC Act. The specific consequences for non-compliance would depend on the nature and severity of the breach, and the department's ability to demonstrate adherence to the conditions outlined in the instrument.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.