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 2018
The Direction is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
Subsection 41A(2) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) provides that the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (the Authority) may direct that fishing is not to be engaged in in the fishery, or a particular part of the fishery, during a specified 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 (OCS) arrangements with each State under Part 5 of the Management Act.
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 limits set under the Commonwealth Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy and the specific Harvest Strategy Framework for the Fishery. Some input controls are also used in the Fishery which include a limit on the number of boats that operate in each sector, as well as gear restrictions such as limits on fishing net mesh size.
The Direction
This Direction prohibits the retention of snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) taken using the gillnet and longline methods in the Fishery in waters adjacent to South Australia until 16 December 2018.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised the Authority (OBPR No. 14421) that a direction that fishing not be engaged in in sub-areas of a fishery is a decision under current regulatory settings and a Regulation Impact Statement is not required.
Background to the Direction
The Offshore Constitutional Settlement arrangements between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of South Australia establish jurisdictional responsibilities for the management of fisheries resources.
Specifically, the management of various finfish (including snapper) by all methods of commercial fishing is established in the 1996 Arrangement between the Commonwealth and State of South Australia in relation to the fishery for finfish to be managed under State law in waters relevant to South Australia. A subsidiary Memorandum of Understanding between the Commonwealth and South Australia establishes bycatch limits to restrict the potential targeting of state managed species by Commonwealth endorsed operators.
The Authority gives effect to these trip limits through the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992. Under these regulations, in waters adjacent to South Australia, Commonwealth fishers are not permitted to target snapper and must discard any bycatch in excess of a 50 kilogram trip limit. The primary Commonwealth sectors catching snapper has been the gillnet and hook sectors of the Fishery.
South Australia has concerns about the stock status of snapper and have implemented management measures for both recreational and South Australian managed commercial fishers to rebuild stocks. The Direction prohibits the retention of snapper by gillnet and hook fishers in the Fishery to complement the state closure.
The Direction prohibits the retention of snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) in waters adjacent to South Australia until 16 December 2018.
The Direction is consistent with the pursuit of the Authority’s objectives set out in section 3 of the Management Act. In particular, the objective concerned with the sustainability of fisheries resources (paragraph 3(1)(b) of the Management Act) which includes ‘ensuring 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’.
Consultation
The Authority wrote to all concession holders in the Fishery on 26 September 2018 seeking feedback on the proposal to adopt this closure.
Section 41A(2) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 provides that, after consultation with the management advisory committee for the fishery, the Authority may direct that fishing not be engaged in in the fishery, or a particular part of the fishery, during a period or periods specified in the direction.
The South East Management Advisory Committee is the Management Advisory Committee established to provide management advice to the Authority for the Fishery. At its meeting on 16 October 2018, SEMAC noted the feedback received from industry and made recommendations regarding the potential implementation of this closure.
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 Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 1 2018.
Clause 2 provides that the Direction commences on the day it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Clause 3 provides that Direction is made under the Fisheries Management Act 1991.
Clause 4 provides that terms used in the Direction that are defined in the Management Plan, have the same meanings they have in the Management Plan.
Clause 5 provides that this Direction is repealed on 16 December 2018, unless earlier revoked.
Clause 6 specifies the persons to whom the Direction applies.
Clause 7 prohibits the retention of snapper in waters adjacent to South Australia until 16 December 2018.
Clause 8 provides that any fish landed in South Australia is deemed to have been taken in South Australian waters.
Clause 9 provides that this Direction does not affect any other Direction in force that closes a part of the fishery to fishing, which Directions continue in force according to their terms.