EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Southern Squid Jig Fishery Management Plan 2005
Southern Squid Jig Fishery Total Allowable Effort Determination 2016
The Southern Squid Jig Fishery Total Allowable Effort Determination 2016 (the Determination) is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Subsection 17(5) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) provides that a plan of management made under the Management Act is to set out, amongst other things, the objectives of the plan of management and measures by which the objectives are to be attained.
Paragraph 17(6)(aa) of the Management Act provides that a plan of management made under the Management Act may provide for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (the Authority) to determine the fishing capacity permitted for the fishery or a part of the fishery in respect of a particular period or periods.
Subsection 11(1) of the Southern Squid Jig Fishery Management Plan 2005 (the Plan) provides that, prior to the start of the fishing year, the Authority must determine the Total Allowable Effort (TAE) for the fishing year. The ‘fishing year’ is defined in the Plan as the calendar year.
The Southern Squid Jig Fishery
Operators in the Southern Squid Jig Fishery (SSJF) target squid species by the squid jigging method. This method involves the use of bright lights to illuminate the water around the fishing boats. Squid gather in the shaded area under the boat and dart into the light to take barbless lures that are ‘jigged’ up and down on either side of the boat. The line is hauled when the jigging machines register a change in the weight on the line. Jigging is a particularly successful and highly selective method for targeting squid, with minimal to no bycatch. Accordingly, ‘effort’ is defined by reference to the number of ‘squid jigging’ machines that may be used in the fishery.
The target species, Arrow Squid (Nototodarus gouldi), is a highly productive and relatively short lived species, making it suitable to be managed using input (effort) controls.
The majority of squid taken from the SSJF is sold on the domestic market. Most squid caught by the jigging method are taken from fishing grounds off Portland, Queenscliff and Lakes Entrance in Victoria, with a small number of operators fishing off South Australia and Tasmania.
Consultation
Subsection 11(2) of the Plan provides that before determining the TAE for a fishing year, the Authority must consult, and consider the views of the Southern Squid Jig Fishery Resource Assessment Group (SquidRAG) and the South East Management Advisory Committee (SEMAC), and may consult, and consider the views of, any other interested person.
SquidRAG met on 14 September 2016 and recommended a TAE of 550 standard squid jigging machines for the 2017 SSJF fishing season.
The Authority consulted with SEMAC on 29 September 2016 who supported a TAE of 550 standard jigging machines for the 2017 SSJF fishing season.
The Authority determined the TAE for the fishery for the 2017 fishing year as 550 standard squid jigging machines, after considering the recommendations of the SquidRAG and SEMAC. The Authority is satisfied that the Determination pursues the legislative objectives of the Management Act.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation advised that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for this Determination consistent with the agreement in place to cover all regulatory changes deemed to be of a minor or machinery nature.
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.
Details of the Determination are set out below:
Clause 1 Provides for the Determination to be cited as the Southern Squid Jig Fishery Total Allowable Effort Determination 2016.
Clause 2 Provides that the Determination commences on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Clause 3 Provides that the Determination is repealed on 1 January 2018 unless earlier revoked.
Clause 4 Provides that a term used in the Determination and in the Plan has the same meaning in the Determination as in the Plan.
Clause 5 Determines the Total Allowable Effort (TAE) for the fishery for the 2017 fishing year is 550 standard squid jigging machines.