Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2010

Explanatory Statement

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2010

Subsection 17(1) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) provides that the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) is to determine plans of management for all fisheries. Subsection 20(1) provides that AFMA may amend a plan of management.

AFMA has determined the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2010 (the Plan Amendment) to amend the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan 1995 (the Plan).

The Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery

The Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery (the Fishery) is part of the global fishery for Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) which is managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT).  CCSBT is the international body which administers the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (the Convention).  The Australian Government manages its component of global fishery through the Plan.  The Australian fishery includes all waters of the Australian Fishing Zone and a high seas fishing zone that is inclusive of the species distribution. 

The CCSBT make decisions relevant to the management of the Fishery.  The CCSBT is responsible for setting the global total allowable catch of SBT and determines national catch allocations for its Members, for Cooperating Non Members, and also allocates a catch limit to other catching countries. Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Korea and Taiwan are members of the Extended Commission.

Background to the Need for Amendments

Australia is a signatory to the Convention, which is administered by the CCSBT. At the 16th meeting of CCSBT (October 2009) it was agreed as part of the Resolution to Ensure Compliance with Conservation and Management Measures, that Australia is to commence a commercial trial of stereo video technology covering 10% of the catch in the 2010-11 season. If the trial proves successful Australia has committed to implement stereo video in full in the following season.  The amendments allow AFMA to explore new technologies and methodologies to ensure that the most accurate estimate of fish weight transferred is obtained.

Stereo video technology uses two digital cameras to measure objects or features that are presented to a camera at two different angles. The length of fish swimming past the stereo cameras can be estimated and this length estimate can be converted to a weight estimate via an algorithm.  The technology has been developed and tested in the purse seine sector of the Fishery for a number of years. The technology has the potential to improve the accuracy and precision of Australia’s quota management system by providing a more accurate estimate of fish weight. However, it is unclear if the technology can be effectively deployed in a commercial setting.

In its current form, the Plan does not explicitly allow for the use of alternate catch monitoring technology such as stereo video.  Accordingly, it is proposed that the Plan be amended to make the CCSBT agreed trial possible and to allow other catch monitoring options to be trialled if necessary.

Further, in 2008 the Plan was amended to account for any excess take of fish and broaden the basis on which fish may be released in the purse seine sector.  These amendments facilitated the live release trial in the fishery and were constrained to apply for three years, expiring 2010.  The live release trial has recently been reviewed. The review recommended an extension of the trial for an additional three years. This requires an amendment to the Plan to extend the application of the live release provisions.

Consultation

AFMA has consulted on the amendments as required by the Act (sections 17 and 20).

AFMA provided a draft of the Plan Amendment for public comment in accordance with sections 17 and 20(5) of the Act. The period for public comment opened on 6 July 2010, via advertisements in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (No. S21107), the Australian newspaper (under Public Notices) and the mailing of letters to all persons on AFMA’s register of interested parties for the Fishery on that date. The register includes all Statutory Fishing Right holders in the Fishery. The period for public comment closed on 6 August 2010 with no submissions received.

Both the Southern Bluefin Tuna Management Advisory Committee (SBTMAC) and the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association have been consulted throughout the development of the Plan amendments. SBTMAC supported the proposed Plan amendments.

The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) advised AFMA that a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is not mandatory for the Plan Amendment because the proposal is of a minor or machinery nature and does not substantially alter existing arrangements (OBPR ID No. 11649).

Summary Details of Amendments

Verified count

The verified count procedures described in sections 22B.1 and 22B.2 of the Plan did not explicitly allow the flexibility to use stereo video cameras or other new technologies. As a result the current monitoring procedures described in sections 22B.1 and 22B.2 of the Plan were modified to allow the use of alternate technology such as stereo video.

The amendments substitute new subclauses for sections 22B.1 and 22B.2 which allow AFMA to prescribe the verified count procedures in a Determination which can subsequently be modified as required. The proposed amendments include requirements to guide the making of such a Determination.  Guiding clauses cover:

1. Consultative requirements of making such a determination; and
2. Minimum requirement of the Determination.

Live release to address overcatch in excess of Australia’s national catch allocation

The purse seine sector of the Fishery captures fish and transfers them alive via a tow cage for further grow out in a farm situation.  The total verified weight is determined through the verified count method detailed in the Plan. It is difficult for fishers to accurately estimate the at sea weight of fish in a tow cage.  Towards the end of a fishing season when the national catch allocation is nearly filled, even small errors in estimation at sea can result in Australia over catching its national catch allocation.

Following consultation with key stakeholders in 2007, AFMA agreed to investigate a mechanism to allow a single end of season release of live fish to reduce the risk of exceeding Australia’s national catch allocation.  The trial was supported by amendments to the Plan in 2008.  As it was a trial the period of effect was limited to three seasons ending 30 November 2010. AFMA has successfully conducted two trial releases of fish over the last three seasons.

A review of the trial was conducted in April 2010 which concluded that, subject to implementing a number of improvements to the release procedures, the release of fish offers a viable method to manage estimation error and minimise the risk of the purse seine sector of the Fishery catching in excess of the national catch allocation. The review considered that it was too early to permanently implement the live release clause in the Plan recommending a further three year extension to the trial to address outstanding issues, namely:

1. CCSBT is currently developing new management procedures to guide the setting of global catches as well as looking at the use of different quota management approaches such as overcatch and undercatch.  In addition Australia will shortly commence trials of stereo video technology as an alternative method to determine verified weights.  These new arrangements and trials will influence domestic quota decrementation processes and timing of verified quota decrementation;
2. While previous releases have been conducted in a cooperative and constructive manner between industry and AFMA the two releases conducted to date have all been carried out by one company. There is a need for further work with industry to ensure that the procedures developed to facilitate live release are transferable across different company structures and facilities; and
3. There is a need to develop a research project to quantify the survival of tuna released.

To extend the trial provision Section 22CA.1 has been updated with three new definitions for the period of the trial, ie:

1. 2011 trial period means the period from 1 December 2010 to 30 November 2011 (inclusive).
2. 2012 trial period means the period from 1 December 2011 to 30 November 2012 (inclusive).
3. 2013 trial period means the period from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2012 (inclusive).

The Amendments

Details of the Plan Amendment, which commenced on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments, are set out below.