EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery
Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 1 2013
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 the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (the Authority) may, after such consultation as set out in subsection 41A(2), 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.
The Fishery
The Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (the fishery) covers the area of waters from approximately 80 nautical miles off the coast near Fraser Island in Queensland, south around Tasmania and west to Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia. The area of the fishery encompasses almost half of the waters within the Australian Fishing Zone. The fishery operates in both Commonwealth and state waters under complex jurisdictional arrangements, due to different Offshore Constitutional Settlement arrangements with each state.
The fishery is managed under the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery Management Plan 2003 (the Plan), in force under section 17 of the Management Act, mainly through output controls in the form of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits set under the Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy and the specific fishery Harvest Strategy Framework. Input controls used include a limit on the number of boats that operate in each sector, as well as gear restrictions such as limits on mesh size and the amount of fishing gear that may be used.
The Direction
Spatial closures are a fisheries management tool used to provide protection to a range of species and/or their habitat. A large number of spatial closures have been implemented to date and as time progresses new closures are developed and redundant ones are removed.
The Direction revokes the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 4 2010 (the previous Direction).
Harrisson’s Dogfish (Centrophorus harrissoni) and Southern Dogfish (C. zeehaani) are considered to be significantly depleted in south east Australia and have been the subject of a nomination for listing as threatened species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Authority has developed the revised Upper-Slope Dogfish Management Strategy to promote the recovery of the Harrisson’s and Southern dogfish, which relies primarily on a network of spatial closures complemented by a range of non-spatial operational measures. The new closure network includes the along-slope and across-slope depth range (200m to 1000m for Harrisson’s Dogfish, and 200m to 900m for Southern Dogfish) of the dogfish to account for their movement within their home range.
Areas prescribed in Schedules 38, 39, and 41 are new closures and schedules 18, 19, 37, and 40 have been amended to protect Harrisson’s and Southern dogfish.
Schedules 13 and 15 are situated within current Commonwealth Marine Reserves (CMRs) which allow restricted commercial fishing methods within them. These closures are in place to allow for compliance arrangements for upper-slope dogfish within these CMRs.
Schedules 11 and 12 have been renamed, and 20 has been renamed and amended to enable development of management arrangements for deepwater sharks.
All other closures remain as per the areas closed under the previous Direction.
Consultation
The Authority has consulted extensively with scientific experts, industry, CSIRO, DAFF, ABARES and SEWPaC in developing the closure network implemented under the revised Upper-Slope Dogfish Management Strategy through workshops, meetings, port visits, phone conversations and correspondence during 2012.
In accordance with subsection 41A(2) of the Management Act, the Authority has consulted with the South East Management Advisory Committee on the contents of the Direction.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation advised that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for this Direction (OBPR ID: 14253)
Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
The Authority assesses under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 that this legislative instrument is compatible with human rights. The Authority’s Statement of Compatibility is attached as a supporting document.
Terms of the Direction
Details of the Direction are set out below:
Clause 1 provides for the Direction to be cited as the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 1 2013.
Clause 2 provides that the Direction commences on 15 February 2013.
Clause 3 provides that the Direction ceases as if revoked on 1 December 2018 unless earlier revoked.
Clause 4 provides definitions for certain terms mentioned in the Direction and that terms used in the Direction that are defined in the Plan and the Management Act, have the same meanings they have in the Plan and Management Act.
Clause 5 specifies the persons to whom the Direction applies.
Clause 6 directs that fishing is not to be engaged in in the specified areas of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery as detailed in Schedules 1 through 42.
Clause 7 revokes the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 4 2010.
Schedule 1 prescribes the area of the Murat Bay closure.
Schedule 2 prescribes the area of the Cascade Plateau closure.
Schedule 3 prescribes the area of the Kent Group National Park closure.
Schedule 4 prescribes the area of the Bass Strait - Trawl Closure.
Schedule 5 prescribes the area of the St Helens Hill Closure.
Schedule 6 prescribes the area of the Seal Bay closure.
Schedule 7 prescribes the area of the Pages Island closure.
Schedule 8 prescribes the area of the Head of the Great Australian Bight closure.
Schedule 9 prescribes the area of the East Coast Deepwater Trawl Sector Exclusion Zone closure.
Schedule 10 prescribes the area of the South Australian Gillnet Closure - Backstairs Passage.
Schedule 11 prescribes the area of the South Australian Shark Closure - Kangaroo Island.
Schedule 12 prescribes the area of the South Australian Shark Closure - Victor Harbor to the Victorian Border.
Schedule 13 prescribes the area of the Freycinet Commonwealth Marine Reserve Closure.
Schedule 14 prescribes the area of the West Coast Tasmania Shark Hook Boat Statutory Fishing Right and Gillnet Depth Closure.
Schedule 15 prescribes the area of the Murray Commonwealth Marine Reserve Closures.
Schedule 16 prescribes the area of the Commonwealth Scalefish Hook Sector Gulper Shark Closure - Southern Dogfish.
Schedule 17 prescribes the area of the Great Australian Bight Trawl Sector Gulper Shark Closure - Southern Dogfish.
Schedule 18 prescribes the area of the Gulper Shark Closure – Endeavour Dogfish.
Schedule 19 prescribes the area of the Gulper Shark Closure – Harrison’s Dogfish.
Schedule 20 prescribes the area of the South East Trawl Deep Water Closure.
Schedule 21 prescribes the area of the Tasmanian Seamounts Marine Reserve closure.
Schedule 22 prescribes the area of the Eastern South Australia Trawl Closure.
Schedule 23 prescribes the area of the Portland Area Trawl Closure.
Schedule 24 prescribes the area of the GAB Deepwater Closure - Central East Zone.
Schedule 25 prescribes the area of the GAB Deepwater Closure - Salisbury Canyon.
Schedule 26 prescribes the area of the GAB Deepwater Closure - Far West.
Schedule 27 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Albany.
Schedule 28 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Bremmer.
Schedule 29 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Humdinger West.
Schedule 30 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Humdinger/Magic.
Schedule 31 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Lomvar Gully.
Schedule 32 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - United Nations.
Schedule 33 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - The Knob.
Schedule 34 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone -Racetrack/Hamburger.
Schedule 35 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Kangaroo Island Hill.
Schedule 36 prescribes the area of the GAB Far West Gulper Shark Closure.
Schedule 37 prescribes the area of the Barcoo and Taupo Seamount’s Closure.
Schedule 38 prescribes the area of the Queensland and Brittania Seamount’s Closure.
Schedule 39 prescribes the area of the Derwent Hunter Seamount Closure.
Schedule 40 prescribes the area of the Port MacDonnell Closure.
Schedule 41 prescribes the area of the Murray Dogfish Closure.