EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by 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 2025
Legislative Authority
Subsection 17(5) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) provides that a plan of management made under the 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.
Subsection 17(6)(aa) of the Act provides that a plan of management made may determine, or provide for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) 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 Management Plan) provides that, prior to the start of each fishing year, AFMA must determine the total allowable effort (TAE) for the Southern Squid Jig Fishery (the Fishery) for the fishing year. Section 3 of the Management Plan provides that fishing year means a calendar year.
The Southern Squid Jig Fishery (Total Allowable Effort) Determination 2025 (the Determination), made under subsection 11(1) of the Management Plan, is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (see subsection 17(6B) of the Act).
Purpose
The Determination determines the TAE for the 2026 fishing year, commencing on 1 January 2026 and ending on 31 December 2026 in the Fishery. The TAE is determined to be 550 standard squid jigging machines.
The TAE determined in section 6 of the Determination is considered to be consistent with the following objectives of the Management Plan. Firstly, the objective of ensuring that the exploitation of the resources of the Fishery is consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development and the exercise of the precautionary principle including the impact of fishing activities on target stocks and bycatch, and secondly, the objective of maximising economic efficiency in the exploitation of the resources of the Fishery.
Background
The Fishery is a low impact, single method, single species fishery that covers almost half of the Australian Fishing Zone. The major landing ports are Apollo Bay (Victoria), Queenscliff (Victoria) and Stanley (Tasmania). Gould’s squid (Nototodarus gouldi, also known as arrow squid) is the key commercial species targeted in the Fishery.
Management arrangements in the Fishery are primarily implemented to manage effort: including restricting the number of boats and regulating gear type. The permitted fishing gear in the Fishery is a ‘standard squid jigging machine’ which is defined in section 3 of the Management Plan to mean: “… a squid jigging machine that has 2 elliptical spools with 1 jig line on each spool.” ‘Squid jigging machine’ is also defined in section 3 of the Management Plan. There are no restrictions on the amount of line, number or type of squid jigs that can be used with each standard squid jigging machine.
The Southern Squid Jig Fishery Harvest Strategy uses a system of in-fishing year monitoring against catch triggers for the Southern Squid Jig Fishery (SSJF), Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) Commonwealth Trawl Sector (CTS) and Great Australian Bight Trawl Sector (GABTS). The only trigger reached for the 2025 season was the SSJF lower catch and effort trigger (end of year) of 360 t and/or 213 days (total days fished).
Consultation
Subsection 11(2) of the Management Plan provides that before determining the TAE for a fishing year, AFMA must consult, and consider the views of the Squid Resource Assessment Group (SquidRAG) and the South East Management Advisory Committee (SEMAC), and may consult, and consider the views of, any other interested person.
AFMA consulted on the proposed TAE for the 2026 fishing year with SquidRAG on 9 October 2025 and with SEMAC on 12 November 2025. The TAE determined for the 2026 fishing year is consistent with the advice provided by both SquidRAG and SEMAC.
SquidRAG is the research and scientific committee that provides advice to SEMAC and AFMA on the Fishery. Industry, fisheries scientists and economists are represented on SquidRAG.
SEMAC is an overarching committee that provides management advice to AFMA for the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery, Small Pelagic Fishery and the Fishery. SEMAC advice is about efficient and cost-effective fisheries management, taking into account scientific advice from SquidRAG. SEMAC receives advice from SquidRAG and uses it to inform its recommendations. Similar to SquidRAG, industry, state government, research, recreational, environment and other interested groups are represented on SEMAC.
Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
This legislative instrument does not infringe any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. Accordingly, in AFMA’s assessment, this legislative instrument is compatible with human rights. A statement of compatibility is included at Attachment A.
Details of the Determination are set out below:
Section 1 | Provides that the name of the instrument is the Southern Squid Jig Fishery (Total Allowable Effort) Determination 2025. |
Section 2 | Provides that the Determination commences on 1 January 2026. |
Section 3 | Provides that the Determination ceases on 31 December 2026. |
Section 4 | Provides that the Determination is made under subsection 11(1) of the Management Plan for the purpose of subsection 17(6)(aa) of the Act. |
Section 5 | Provides relevant definitions for the Determination. The note explains a number of expressions used in the Determination are defined in the definitions section, section 3 of the Management Plan, including fishery, fishing year, Southern Squid Jig Fishery, squid jigging, squid jigging machine, standard squid jigging machine; and total allowable effort or TAE. fishery means the Southern Squid Jig Fishery. fishing year means a calendar year. Southern Squid Jig Fishery means squid jigging in the area of the fishery. squid jigging means fishing for squid using a squid jigging machine. squid jigging machine means a device consisting of 1 or more jig lines, to which barbless lures are attached, that are rotated on elliptical spools by an electric motor. standard squid jigging machine means a squid jigging machine that has 2 elliptical spools with 1 jig line on each spool. total allowable effort or TAE, for a fishing year, means the total number of standard squid jigging machines that may be used for squid jigging in the fishery in the fishing year. |
Section 6 | Section 6 determines the TAE for the Southern Squid Jig Fishery for the 2026 fishing year as 550 standard squid jigging machines. This TAE is consistent with the Management Plan and the advice received from SquidRAG and SEMAC.
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Attachment A
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Southern Squid Jig Fishery (Total Allowable Effort) Determination 2025
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
Subsection 17(5) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 provides that a plan of management made under the 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.
Subsection 17(6)(aa) of the Act provides that a plan of management made under the Act may determine, or provide for the Australian Fisheries Management 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 provides that, prior to the start of each fishing year, AFMA must determine the total allowable effort (TAE) for the Southern Squid Jig Fishery (the Fishery) for the fishing year.
The Southern Squid Jig Fishery (Total Allowable Effort) Determination 2025 sets the TAE for the 2026 fishing year in the Fishery as 550 standard squid jigging machines.
The TAE determined is considered to be consistent with the following objectives of the Management Plan. Firstly, the objective of ensuring that the exploitation of the resources of the Fishery is consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development and the exercise of the precautionary principle including the impact of fishing activities on target stocks and bycatch, and secondly, the objective of maximising economic efficiency in the exploitation of the resources of the Fishery.
Human rights implications
The Determination does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
The Determination is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.