EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Protected Zone Joint Authority
Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984
Fisheries Management Notice No. 79
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 Torres Strait Spanish Mackerel Fishery operates predominantly in the eastern Torres Strait targeting the narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson). In 1999, the Fishery was expanded to include the mackerel species school mackerel (Scomberomorus queenslandicus), grey mackerel (Scomberomorus semifasciatus), spotted mackerel (Scomberomorus munroi) and shark mackerel (Grammatorcynus bicarinatus).
Spanish mackerel are fished by trolling (towing lures or bait behind the boat), generally from dories/dinghies (aluminium or fibreglass boats under 6 meters) operating either to a primary vessel or by themselves. The majority of the catch is taken by a small number of commercial operators.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Regulation Review (ORR) advised AFMA that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for the proposed notice (RIS 8504).
Consultation
This Fisheries Management Notice replaces Fisheries Management Notice No. 74, dated 28 November 2005.
The new content of this Fisheries Management Notice has been put through the approved Torres Strait Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) consultative structure. It has been discussed at the Finfish Fishery Working Group and the Torres Strait Fisheries Management Advisory Committee (TSFMAC). The Working Group and TSFMAC memberships include; the Queensland Seafood Industry Association (representing non-indigenous commercial fisheries) and representatives of the Community Fisheries Group (representing traditional inhabitant commercial fishers). Consensus was reached on the nature and content of the policy contained in this notice during the consultative process. The PZJA considered these views when they endorsed the policy.
The Torres Strait Fisheries section of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has also been consulted on the general content of the proposed Notice.
Details of the Notice
The content of the proposed notice includes all existing arrangements (specified in Fisheries Management Notice No 74) and the addition of a gear restriction on a class of licence operating in a specific area of the Spanish Mackerel Fishery.
Fisheries Management Notice 74 prohibits the taking, processing and carrying of Spanish mackerel in the Torres Strait Spanish Mackerel Fishery. It does not impose any restrictions on where or when a fisher can operate.
For a number of years a gentleman’s agreement has existed in the Bramble Cay area of the Spanish mackerel fishery where fishers have worked the area in the early morning and late afternoon and have rested the fishery during the day. In 2003 industry members of the Working Group requested this arrangement be formalised during the months of August to December when the spawning aggregations are occurring in this area. It was also requested that the Bramble Cay area be designated a troll only area. This was on the basis that the area fished is very small and gear conflict could become a major issue should other permitted methods be used to target mackerel in this area. Of particular concern is the potential conflict that may arise should PNG cross endorsed vessels choose to take up their rights to fish within the Australian jurisdiction and adopt incompatible fishing methods.
The PZJA at its July 2005 meeting agreed to restrict fishing in the Bramble Cay and Black Rocks area to trolling only and to limit fishing during the months of August to December to between the hours of 0930 and 1500 each day. These arrangements were not to apply to Traditional Inhabitant Boat (TIB) licences.
Clause 1 | States that the notice may be cited as Torres Strait Fisheries Management Notice No. 79. |
Clause 2 | States that the notice commences on Gazettal. |
Clause 3 | States that the notice applies in conjunction with other notices in place for the Spanish Mackerel Fishery. |
Clause 4 | States that Fisheries Management Notice number 74 is revoked. |
Clause 5 | Details how certain words and terms used in the notice are to be interpreted. |
Clause 6 | States that the taking of Spanish mackerel is prohibited. |
Clause 7 | Details who is exempt from the Spanish mackerel prohibition based on licence type or their engagement in traditional fishing (which does not require a licence). |
Clause 8.1 | States that minimum size limits apply. |
Clause 8.2 | Describes how mackerel should be measured. |
Clause 9 | States that persons engaged in traditional fishing are exempt from the minimum size limits. This is in accordance with the terms of the Torres Strait Treaty. |
Clause 10 | Specifies what methods can be used to take mackerel. |
Clause 11 | Specifies what methods can be used and when in the territorial waters around Bramble Cay and Black Rock. |
Clause 12 | States that persons engaged in traditional fishing are exempt from the prohibitions set out in clauses 10 and 11. |
Schedule 1 | Specifies the minimum size limits for each of the mackerel species covered by this Fisheries Management Notice. |