EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Managing Director
of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan 1995
2005/2006 SBT Provisional National Catch Allocation Determination
Subsections 17(6)(a) and 17(6)(aa) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) provide that a plan of management for a fishery may, among other things:
- determine the method or methods by which the fishing capacity of the fishery is to be measured, including by reference to, among other things, a quantity of fish and a particular period of fishing; and
- provide for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to determine the fishing capacity in respect of a particular period or periods.
A determination made under subsection 17(6)(aa) of the Act is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan 1995 (the Plan) implements as domestic law Australia's obligations under the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (the Convention), an arrangement between Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Korea and the Fishing Entity of Taiwan. The Plan also provides for the grant of statutory fishing rights (SFRs) as the vehicle for access to the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery (the Fishery). Under the Plan, each SFR allows its holder to take an equal proportion of the Australian national catch allocation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) in a season.
Section 17 of the Plan provides for AFMA to determine provisional and final national catch allocations of SBT for seasons in the Fishery:
- Subsection 17.4 provides that AFMA may determine a provisional national catch allocation for a season if, at the end of 1 month after the commencement of the season, the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (the Commission) has not made a decision that applies to the season.
- Subsection 17.5 restricts the provisional national catch allocation for a season to be not more than the Australian national catch allocation determined by AFMA for the previous season.
Seasons in the Fishery are defined in the Fisheries Management (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations 1995 (the Regulations). The 2005/2006 season is defined under the Regulations to commence on 1 December 2005 and end on 30 November 2006.
At the date of making this Determination, the Commission has not made a decision that applied to the 2005/2006 season.
The effect of the 2005/2006 SBT Provisional National Catch Allocation Determination (the Determination) is to set the amount of SBT that may be taken from the Fishery during the 2005/2006 season to the same amount as that allowed to be taken from the Fishery in the previous (2004/2005) season. Prior to the Determination being made, the amount of SBT that could be taken from the Fishery during the 2005/2006 season had been limited under the Plan to an interim amount of 50% of Australia’s national catch allocation for the previous season; that is, 2,632,500 kilograms.
In making the Determination, AFMA had regard, among other things, to the following circumstances:
- in the Fishery, a substantial portion of each season’s national catch allocation is usually taken in the early part of the season, therefore commercial operators would face substantial financial disadvantage if a decision on the provisional allocation is delayed;
- at the time of making the Determination, a decision by the Commission to determine the Australian national catch allocation is unlikely to occur until the next meeting of the CCSBT, which is scheduled mid 2006; and
- That at the last meeting of the Commission Australia agreed, in line with the scientific advice, for a reduction in the global catch in 2007.
The Fishery
Southern bluefin tuna (SBT) is a highly migratory species and is widely distributed throughout waters of the southern oceans, including the Australian fishing zone. The Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) Fishery encompasses SBT fishing operations inside the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ) (ie 200 nautical miles around Australia) and on the high seas. Aside from New South Wales, under an Offshore Constitutional Settlement (OCS) agreement between the Commonwealth and the States/Territories, management of the SBT fishery to the area of low water mark is the responsibility of the Commonwealth through AFMA. In New South Wales, the State Government has banned the take of SBT inside three nautical miles. The current ban is effective until 2010.
SBT is primarily managed using Statutory Fishing Rights (SFR) that allow holders to fish for SBT within the AFZ and the high seas. The key areas where SBT is caught are the Great Australian Bight and to a lesser extent the west and east coasts of Australia.
Internationally, SBT is fished throughout its range by 20 nations although Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Korea, South Africa and Indonesia account for the majority of catches. The SBT stock is considered to be overfished, spawning stock severely depleted and current catches severely limit probability of rebuilding.
Consultation
Prior to determining the provisional national catch allocation for SBT in 2005/2006 AFMA has consulted with:
- The Fisheries and Aquaculture Branch of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia, which is responsible for the international aspects of the fishery's management
- The Southern Bluefin Tuna Management Advisory Committee (SBTMAC), which is established under the Fisheries Administration Act 1991 as the principle forum in which issues relating to the management of the domestic SBT Fishery are discussed; and
- The Tuna Boat Owners’ Association of Australia, the major industry body in the Fishery, have been consulted during AFMA’s preparation of the determination.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office for Regulation Review (ORR) advised AFMA that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for the Determination of the Provisional National Catch Allocation for the 2005/2006 season (ORR ID 7856).