Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FISHERIES MANAGEMENT (SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA FISHERY) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)1997 NO. 234

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1997 No. 234

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.

Subsection 17(1) of the Act empowers the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to determine a plan of management for a fishery. 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 AFMA under subsection 17(1) of the Act. Among other things, the Plan enables Australia to comply with its obligations under the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (the Convention).

Australia, Japan and New Zealand have each signed and ratified the Convention. The Convention is administered by the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (the Commission). The Commission determines an annual global total allowable catch (global TAC) of Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) and allocates that global TAC among the three member countries. Due to the migratory nature of SBT, the seasons in each member country to which a global TAC applies have different start and end dates.

The Plan provides for management of the fishery by means of a system of statutory fishing rights (SFRs). Under the Plan, a holder of SFRs (known as an operator) is permitted to take a particular quantity by weight of SBT for each SFR held during an Australian season, as determined by AFMA. If the Commission has not determined a global TAC and Australia's catch allocation at least one month before the start of the Australian season, AFMA must calculate and publish an interim live weight value of SFRs for the forthcoming season, which cannot be more than 50 per cent of the actual live weight value for the previous season. If the Commission has still not determined a global TAC within one month of the start of the Australian season, AFMA may determine a provisional national catch allocation which cannot be more than the Australia's national catch allocation from the global TAC decided on by the Commission for the previous season.

Among other things, the principal Regulations define the Australian season. The purpose of the Fisheries Management (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations (Amendment) (the Regulations) is to amend the principal Regulations to alter the definition of the Australian season.

*       The principal Regulations previously provided that the Australian season commenced on 16 December in a year and ended on 15 December in the following year.

*       The Regulations provide that the current Australian season end on 30 November 1997 and that subsequent seasons commence on 1 December in a year and end on 30 November in the next year.

The Regulations provide significant benefits to operators in the fishery. Bringing forward the season commencement date allows operators sufficient time to make appropriate commercial arrangements with regard to the leasing of their SFRs before the middle of December, when most SBT fishing commences. In addition, bringing forward the season commencement date to, 1 December enables operators to catch more than 50 per cent of their portion of the previous season's national catch allocation from as early as 1 January each year, rather than from 16 January, as is presently the case.

At the same time, bringing forward the commencement of the SBT season to 1 December does not:

*       encourage overfishing in the early part of the season, as fishing depends on the migration of fish, something riot controlled by operators; nor

*       cause Australia to breach its international obligations under the Convention, as operators continue to be restricted to catching no more SBT than the allocation to Australia from the global TAC decided, by the Commission.

The Regulations are supported by the Southern Tuna Management Advisory Committee, an advisory body to AFMA and by the major industry body in the fishery, the, Tuna Boat Owners Association of Australia.

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 2A of the principal Regulations by substituting a new definition for the term "season".


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