EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan 1995
Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery (Transfer Weighing) Determination 2022
The Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery (Transfer Weighing) Determination 2022 (the Determination) is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
The Southern Bluefin Tuna Management Plan 1995 (the Plan) is in force under section 17 of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act).
Subsection 17(6)(aa) of the Act provides that a plan of management may determine or provide for AFMA to determine the fishing capacity measured, by that method or those methods permitted for the fishery or a part of the fishery in respect of a particular period or periods.
Subsection 22B.2 of the Plan requires the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to determine the manner in which the ‘transfer weighing’ of Southern Bluefin Tuna is to be carried out.
The Determination determines the manner in which the transfer weighing is to be carried out when an operator transfers Southern Bluefin Tuna from a tow cage to a farm.
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 (AFZ). Internationally the fishery is managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) of which Australia is a member. The Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery encompasses SBT fishing operations inside the AFZ (i.e. adjacent from 3 to 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. The Plan was amended in 2020 to implement the government’s commitment to set aside five per cent of Australia’s CCSBT allocation for recreational fishing mortality. The set aside means that up to 95 per cent of Australia’s annual CCSBT allocation will be available to the commercial sector.
The commercial SBT Fishery is managed using Statutory Fishing Rights (SFRs) that allow holders to fish for SBT within the AFZ and the high seas. The majority of SBT are caught in offshore waters adjacent to Kangaroo Island, South Australia. The fish are caught live and transferred from a tow cage into a farm where the fish are kept for an approximate six months grow-out period. The transfer weighing is conducted at the time of transfer to determine the weight of live fish transferred. This weight is used for quota decrementation purposes. The remainder of the total allowable catch is taken using longline methods, predominantly off south eastern Australia during the winter months. These fish are landed dead and weighed on registered scales. This weight is used for quota decrementation purposes. The recreational sector continues to be managed by the relevant states using bag and size limits.
Consultation
The 100 fish sample has been used as the basis for calculating quota in the farm sector of the fishery since 2013. The government has committed to investigating new technologies for potential improvements to the current protocols, however, to date none have been identified. In October 2021, the Southern Bluefin Tuna Management Advisory Committee, consisting of representatives from the SBT industry, the recreational sector, the South Australian state government and Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, considered out of session the recommendation that the 100 fish sample methodology be used for quota decrementation purposes in the farming sector of the fishery for the 2022 fishing season and agreed with that recommendation.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation has previously identified that decisions by AFMA including the setting of a total allowable catch (TAC); setting opening and closing dates for a fishing season; and setting undercatch and overcatch provisions in a fishery, do not require a Regulation Impact Statement. Such decisions are considered to be machinery in nature and are included in an approved carve-out (OBPR reference no. 14421) reflecting where AFMA is required to make decisions under current regulatory settings and follow certain procedures when making those decisions.
Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
AFMA assesses under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 that this legislative instrument is compatible with human rights. AFMA’s Statement of Compatibility is attached as a supporting document.
Details of the Determination are set out below:
Clause 1 provides that the Determination may be cited as the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery (Transfer Weighing) Determination 2022.
Clause 2 provides that the Determination commences on 1 December 2021.
Clause 3 provides that the Determination ceases on 1 December 2022.
Clause 4 provides that the Determination is made pursuant to paragraph 17(6)(aa) of the Act under subsection 22B.2 of the Plan.
Clause 5 provides that a term used in the Determination that is defined in the Plan has the same meaning in the Determination as it has in the Plan
Clause 6 determines the manner in which transfer weighing is to be carried out for the purpose of subsection 22B.2 of the Plan.