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. 5 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
The Direction continues the Shark Hook and Gillnet Deepwater Closure and the Automatic Longline Shallow Water Closure contained within the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 4 2010 which was revoked. The Direction allows for the future development of alternative management arrangements specific to the Shark Hook and Gillnet Deepwater Closure and the Automatic Longline Shallow Water Closure.
The Direction revokes the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 3 2013 due to an error with the co-ordinates of the area closed to fishing within the instrument.
Consultation
In accordance with subsection 41A(2) of the Management Act, the Authority has consulted with the South East Management Advisory Committee (the 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: 11917).
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. 5 2013.
Clause 2 provides that the Direction commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Clause 3 provides that the Direction ceases as if revoked on 1 December 2018 unless earlier revoked.
Clause 4 provides 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.
Clause 7 revokes the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 3 2013 from the date of commencement.
Schedule 1 prescribes the area of the Shark Hook and Gillnet Deepwater Closure.
Schedule 2 prescribes the area of the Automatic Longline Shallow Water Closure.