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 2018
The Southern Squid Jig Fishery (Total Allowable Effort) Determination 2018 (the Determination) is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation 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 2 October 2018 and recommended a TAE of 550 standard squid jigging machines for the 2019 SSJF fishing season.
The Authority consulted with SEMAC on 16 October 2018 who recommended a TAE of 550 standard jigging machines for the 2019 SSJF fishing season.
The Authority determined the TAE for the fishery for the 2019 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 (OBPR ID 14421).
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 included below.
Details of the Determination are set out below:
Clause 1 Provides for the Determination is called the Southern Squid Jig Fishery (Total Allowable Effort) Determination 2018.
Clause 2 Provides that the Determination commences on 1 January 2019.
Clause 3 Provides that the Determination is revoked on 1 January 2020.
Clause 4 Provides that the Determination is made pursuant to paragraph 17(6)(aa) of the Act by way of subsection 11(1) 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 in the Plan.
Clause 6 Repeals the TAE determination made for the 2018 fishing season.
Clause 7 Determines the Total Allowable Effort (TAE) for the fishery for the 2019 fishing year is 550 standard squid jigging machines.