EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction (No. 1) 2015
Subsection 41A(2) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) provides that the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (the Authority) 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.
The Direction is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
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.
Management in the fishery is mainly through output controls in the form of Total Allowable Catch limits set under the Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy and Guidelines 2007 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, the amount of fishing gear that may be used and spatial closures.
Closures serve to place restrictions on effort to protect spawning grounds, minimise impact on deepwater species, facilitate the recovery of certain species and protect threatened and endangered species.
Background to the Direction
In pursuing its objectives the Authority is required to ensure that the exploitation of fisheries resources and the carrying on of any related activities are conducted in a manner consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development (which include the exercise of the precautionary principle), in particular the need to have regard to the impact of fishing activities on non-target species and the long term sustainability of the marine environment.
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 in the fishery, and as time progresses, new closures are developed and redundant ones are removed.
In February 2013, under subsection 41A (2) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Management Act), the Authority registered the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 1 2013. This direction implements spatial closures to provide protection to various species and their habitat including Upper Slope Dogfish and Orange Roughy.
Harrisson’s Dogfish (Centrophorus harrissoni) and Southern Dogfish (C. zeehaani) are considered to be significantly depleted in south east Australia and have been listed as conservation dependent under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Authority developed the revised Upper-Slope Dogfish Management Strategy in 2012 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 revised closure network included 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. These changes were implemented in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 1. 2013.
In June 2010 the Authority put in place the Australian Sea Lion Management Strategy (the Strategy). The Strategy was developed to reduce and monitor the interactions between Australian sea lions and gillnets used by Commonwealth shark fishers in the area of the fishery off South Australia. Australian sea lions are classified as a threatened (vulnerable) species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The Strategy followed a report by the South Australian Research and Development Institute that assessed that high levels of sea lion by-catch mortality were limiting the recovery of most colonies in South Australia. Accordingly, the purpose of the Strategy was to significantly reduce the impact of gillnet fishing on Australian sea lions so as to enable colonies to recovery.
The measures implemented under the Strategy included formal closures around more than 40 sea lions in South Australian waters; the setting of sea lion mortality limits that would trigger additional closures if unacceptable levels of ongoing Australian sea lion interaction occurred; and a review of gillnet fishing practices.
The Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 7 2013 was registered in May 2013 and continued the spatial closures under the Strategy.
In 2014, the Authority undertook a review of historic closures within the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) and made recommendations to retain, remove or amend closures based on their management objectives and whether these were still being met and not duplicated by other closures put in place by AFMA or other jurisdictions.
The Direction
The Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction (No. 1) 2015 replaces the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery Closures Direction No. 1 2013 and the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 7 2013. The Direction applies to all Statutory Fishing Right holders in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery and those operating on behalf of these concession holders. The Direction incorporates the closures of the previous Direction with the following amendments:
- Schedule 2 – Cascade Plateau closure has been removed. This was in response to advice from the Slope Resource Assessment Group regarding a lack of evidence of Dogfish interactions.
- Schedule 3 – Kent Group closure has been removed as it duplicated the Tasmanian State Government Kent Group Marine Reserve.
- Schedule 6 – Seal Bay and Schedule 7 – Pages Island have been removed as the waters surrounding these breeding colonies are now included in closures under Schedule 39 as a result of the Australian Sea Lion Management Strategy.
- Schedule 16 and Schedule 17 have been combined to form Schedule 12 in the new Direction. This closure is now closed to hook and trawl methods but does not change existing arrangements.
- Schedule 21- Tasmanian Seamounts Marine Reserve Closure has been removed as it was duplicated with a Commonwealth Marine Reserve.
In May 2013, the Authority received research suggesting a high survival rate for Harrisson’s Dogfish when caught by hydraulic hand reel droplining and with good handling practices. Following consultation with various stakeholders, the Authority removed the trigger limit applicable to this method. Therefore, the trigger limit for Upper Slope Dogfish is not applicable to the hydraulic hand reel droplining method in Schedules 3, 9, 11, 31 and 35 when fishing with the hydraulic hand reel method.
Schedules 36, 37 and 38 are newly defined areas and are exclusions to Schedule 3 and Schedule 15. This is to allow for targeted fishing for Orange Roughy in these areas. In 2014, an updated Tier 1 assessment was conducted which identified that Orange Roughy stocks in the Eastern Zone had rebuilt to 26 per cent of female spawning biomass. After consultation with stakeholders, the AFMA Commission set a commercial TAC for Orange Roughy in the Eastern Zone for the 2015/16 fishing season.
This Direction is consistent with the Authority’s objectives. This includes the objective of ensuring that the exploitation of fisheries resources is conducted in a manner consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development (which include the exercise of the precautionary principle) as well as maximising the net economic returns to the Australian community from the management of Australian fisheries.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has previously advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required for this instrument, consistent with the agreement in place to cover all regulatory changes deemed to be of a minor or machinery nature.
Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
This legislative instrument does not infringe any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Accordingly, in the Authority’s assessment, this legislative instrument is compatible with human rights and a declaration is attached.
Consultation
Subsection 41A(2) of the Management Act provides that, before giving a direction, the Authority must consult the Management Advisory Committee and consider their views.
The Authority has consulted extensively with scientific experts, the fishing industry, CSIRO, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Environment in developing the closure network implemented under the closure direction through workshops, meetings, phone conversations and correspondence during 2014.
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.
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) 2015.
Clause 2 Provides that the Direction commences on 1 May 2015.
Clause 3 Provides that the Direction ceases as if revoked on 1 May 2020, 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 using specific methods in the specified areas of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery as detailed in Schedules 1 through 39.
Clause 7 Specifies the schedules to which exemptions apply in relation to Orange Roughy.
Clause 8 Specifies the schedules to which exemptions apply in relation to the hydraulic hand reel droplining method.
Clause 9 Revokes the Directions closing the specified areas under the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 1 2013 (F2013L00168) and the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 7 2013 (F2013L00693).
Schedule 1 prescribes the area of the Murat Bay closure.
Schedule 2 prescribes the area of the Bass Strait - Trawl Closure.
Schedule 3 prescribes the area of the St Helens Hill Closure.
Schedule 4 prescribes the area of the Head of the Great Australian Bight closure.
Schedule 5 prescribes the area of the East Coast Deepwater Trawl Sector Exclusion Zone closure.
Schedule 6 prescribes the area of the South Australian Gillnet Closure - Backstairs Passage.
Schedule 7 prescribes the area of the South Australian Shark Closure - Kangaroo Island.
Schedule 8 prescribes the area of the South Australian Shark Closure - Victor Harbor to the Victorian Border.
Schedule 9 prescribes the area of the Freycinet Commonwealth Marine Reserve Closure.
Schedule 10 prescribes the area of the West Coast Tasmania Shark Hook Boat Statutory Fishing Right and Gillnet Depth Closure.
Schedule 11 prescribes the area of the Murray Commonwealth Marine Reserve Closures.
Schedule 12 prescribes the area of the Commonwealth Gulper Shark Closure - Southern Dogfish.
Schedule 13 prescribes the area of the Gulper Shark Closure – Endeavour Dogfish.
Schedule 14 prescribes the area of the Gulper Shark Closure – Harrison’s Dogfish.
Schedule 15 prescribes the area of the South East Trawl Deep Water Closure.
Schedule 16 prescribes the area of the Eastern South Australia Trawl Closure.
Schedule 17 prescribes the area of the Portland Area Trawl Closure.
Schedule 18 prescribes the area of the GAB Deepwater Closure - Central East Zone.
Schedule 19 prescribes the area of the GAB Deepwater Closure - Salisbury Canyon.
Schedule 20 prescribes the area of the GAB Deepwater Closure - Far West.
Schedule 21 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Albany.
Schedule 22 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Bremmer.
Schedule 23 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Humdinger West.
Schedule 24 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Humdinger/Magic.
Schedule 25 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Lomvar Gully.
Schedule 26 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - United Nations.
Schedule 27 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - The Knob.
Schedule 28 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone -Racetrack/Hamburger.
Schedule 29 prescribes the area of the GAB Orange Roughy Zone - Kangaroo Island Hill.
Schedule 30 prescribes the area of the GAB Far West Gulper Shark Closure.
Schedule 31 prescribes the area of the Barcoo and Taupo Seamount’s Closure.
Schedule 32 prescribes the area of the Queensland and Brittania Seamount’s Closure.
Schedule 33 prescribes the area of the Derwent Hunter Seamount Closure.
Schedule 34 prescribes the area of the Port MacDonnell Closure.
Schedule 35 prescribes the area of the Murray Dogfish Closure.
Schedule 36 prescribes the area of the St Helens Hill Orange Roughy Management Area.
Schedule 37 prescribes the area of the St Patricks Hill Orange Roughy Management Area.
Schedule 38 prescribes the area of the Pedra Branca Orange Roughy Management Area.
Schedule 39 prescribes the area of the Australian Sea Lion Closures.
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