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. 4 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.
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.
The area prescribed in Schedule 1 is a new closure to protect Harrisson’s and Southern dogfish.
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. 4 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 area of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery as detailed in Schedule 1.
Schedule 1 prescribes the area of the Flinders Research Zone Closure.