Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FISHERIES MANAGEMENT (SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA FISHERY) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1995 NO. 125

STATUTORY RULES 1995 No. 125

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Resources

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Fisheries Management (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 168 (1) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations required or permitted by the Management Act to be prescribed.

The Fisheries Management (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations (the principal Regulations) complement the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan 1995 (the Plan), which was determined by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) under subsection 17 (1) of the Act.

The Plan came into effect on 3 February 1995 and provides for the management of the fishery by means of a system of statutory fishing rights (SFRs). Under the Plan, the holder of an SFR is permitted to take a quantity by weight of Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) using a particular boat. The Plan provides for how the quantity of SBT allowed to be taken under an SFR is determined and how the boat used to take the SBT must be nominated for use in connection with the SFR. The Plan also specifies that the quantity of SBT that can be taken under an SFR is measured in terms of the weight of whole SBT.

Due to its high value, much SBT is processed at sea before its weight can be accurately measured on land. Regulation 7 of the principal Regulations previously provided for a formula (the old formula) which allowed for the conversion of the processed weight of SBT to an equivalent whole weight by applying a factor of 1.176 to the processed weight of SBT. The old formula only accommodated SBT which had been processed by means of complete removal of the gill plates and the tail. Such processing is normally used when the SBT is to be frozen for storage before delivery to the market.

In practice, there are a number of methods that can be used to process SBT, each of which would give a different processed weight if applied to the same whole weight of SBT. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has commissioned research into developing alternative formulae to accommodate alternative processing methods.

AFMA has received scientific advice about the first of the alternative processing methods to be investigated, which involved retention of the gill plates and removal of only part of the tail. Such processing is normally used when the SBT is to be is to be delivered fresh to the market. The scientific advice recommends the adoption of a new formula to accommodate this processing. The formula converts the processed weight of a batch of SBT to an equivalent whole weight by applying a factor of 1.12 to the processed weight of the batch (expressed in kilograms) and adding to the result 1 kilogram for each SBT in the batch.

The Fisheries Management (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations (Amendment) (the Regulations) amend the principal Regulations to preserve the old formula and include the new formula. The Regulations have the support of the Southern Bluefin Tuna Management Advisory Committee. AFMA consulted widely with the industry in the fishery before the Regulations were drafted.

Details of the Regulations, which commenced on gazettal, are set out below:

Regulation 1 provides that the Regulations amend the principal Regulations.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 2 of the principal Regulations by substituting a new definition for the term "processed form". The new definition relates to the 2 alternative forms of processing that are accommodated in the conversion formulae - processed form A (used for frozen SBT) and processed form B (used for fresh SBT).

Regulation 3 amends regulation 7 of the principal Regulations to include the new formula and adapt the drafting of the old formula accordingly.