EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Commission
of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Fisheries Management Act 1991
Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery Management Plan 2005
Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery Total Allowable Commercial Catches (2010/11 Fishing Year) Determination
The Determination sets the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) for each quota species for the 2010/2011 fishing season (1 July 2010 to 31 January 2012) under the Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery Management Plan 2005 (the Plan). The quota species are Bigeye Tuna, Broadbill Swordfish, Striped Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna.
The Legislation
Section 17 of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) provides for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority to determine Plans of Management for a fishery.
Paragraph (aa) of subsection 17(6) of the Act provides that a plan of management may determine, or provide for AFMA to determine, the fishing capacity for a fishery measured by that method or those methods permitted for the fishery or a part of the fishery in respect of a particular period or periods.
Section 11 of the Plan provides that AFMA must, before the start of each fishing season, determine the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) for each quota species for the season. Before determining a TACC, AFMA must consider:
(a) information given by the advisory committee (being the Tropical Tuna Advisory Committee, established under s54 of the Fisheries Administration Act 1991), other interested Australian and international bodies and other interested persons; and
(b) the total estimated catch by the commercial, recreational, indigenous and any other users of the fishery; and
(c) information about the sustainability of marine species in the area of the fishery; and
(d) the reference points set for the stocks of quota species; and
(e) the precautionary principle; and
(f) any decision made by the Minister or an intergovernmental Ministerial Council about resource sharing in the fishery; and
(g) any decision rule used for setting the TACC; and
(h) the likely effect, for the fishing season, of any overcatch permitted under section 18.
The Fishery
The Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery (WTBF) extends westward from Cape York Peninsula (142°30’E) off Queensland to 34°S off the west coast of Western Australia. It also extends eastward from 34°S off the west coast of WA, across the Great Australian Bight to 141°E at the South Australian/Victorian border.
Management in the WTBF is mainly through output controls in the form of TACCs Input controls used include a limit on the number of boats that operate in the fishery, as well as gear requirements to manage the incidental catch of non-target species.
Consultation
The TACCs made by this Determination were considered by the Tropical Tuna Management Advisory Committee (the MAC) which recommended them to the AFMA Commission. In accepting the recommendation, the Commission considered each of the matters specified in section 11, paragraphs (a) to (h) of the Plan (above).
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) advised AFMA that a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was not required for the determination of quota species TACCs in the WTBF for the 2010/11 season. (OBPR ID 11543).
Details of the Determination are set out below:
Clause 1 provides for the Determination to be cited as 2010/11 WTBF TACC D1.
Clause 2 provides for that the Determination commences on 1 July 2010.
Clause 3 provides that the terms used in the Determination have the same meaning that they have in the Plan.
Clause 4 specifies the TACCs for the four quota species for the fishing year 1 July 2010 to 31 January 2012.