Torres Strait Fisheries Management Notice No. 72A (11/10/2006)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the authority of the Protected Zone Joint Authority

Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984

Fisheries Management Notice No. 72A

The Fisheries Management Notice is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

Subsection 16(1) of the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 (the Act) provides for the Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation to regulate fishing through a notice published in the Gazette. Subsection 35(1) of the Act provides for the Protected Zone Joint Authority to exercise the powers of the Minister under subsection 16(1) of the Act.

The fishery

The Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) manages the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery on behalf of the Australian Government. The PZJA’s objectives for the fishery are: to control effort in the fishery and provide for catch sharing to occur with PNG; to achieve a level of fishing effort which is consistent with conservation and optimum use of the Torres Strait Prawn resource.

The fishery is a multi-species prawn fishery (Endeavour, tiger and king prawns) that operates in the eastern part of the Torres Strait and is the most valuable commercial fishery in the Strait. The fishery has recently undergone a sustainable effort cut and a voluntary licence surrender process to account for Australia’s catch sharing obligations under the Torres Strait Treaty with Papua New Guinea and improved sustainability of the fishery. The fishery is considered fully exploited with the current level of effort.

Regulation Impact Statement

This Notice will remake legal rights and obligations that were unintentionally subject to repeal. The Office of Regulation Review (ORR) has advised the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required as Fisheries Management Notice No. 72A reinstates provisions already in operation under Fisheries Management Notice No. 72.

Consultation

Fisheries Management Notice No. 72A reinstates Fisheries Management Notice No. 72, dated 18 February 2004.

This Notice is essential to managing the effort in the Torres Strait Prawn fishery. Section 18(b) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 provides for an exemption to consultation requirements where the implementation of a regulation is required as a matter of urgency. Stakeholder consultation has not occurred on this Notice as it reinstates established practice implemented under Fisheries Management Notice No. 72.

The Torres Strait Fisheries section of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has consulted with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and the Office of Regulation Review on the proposed Notice.

Details of the Notice

Fisheries Management Notice No. 72A reinstates the clauses in Fisheries Management Notice No. 72 which are established practice in the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery. Fisheries Management Notice No. 72 was first gazetted on 23 February 2004 and, pursuant to section 32(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 was repealed on 1 October 2006. Due to the operation of section 15(b) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 the revocation of Fisheries Management Notice No. 43 and the amendment of Fisheries Management Notice No. 40 (which took effect as a result of Fisheries Management Notice 72) remain in force and are not affected by the failure to register Fisheries Management Notice No. 72.

Fisheries Management Notice No. 72A contains all existing arrangements of Fisheries Management Notice No. 72 including: a prohibition on the taking, processing or carrying of prawns or possession of equipment capable of being used for prawn trawling in the areas Torres Strait Prawn Fishery and a series of exemptions from these prohibitions including the holding of a licence to undertake these activities for a number of days in a year.