Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FISHERIES MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 278

STATUTORY RULES 1997 No. 278

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Resources and Energy

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Fisheries Management 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 Act to be prescribed and regulations necessary or convenient to be prescribed in carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Paragraph 168(2)(p) of the Act provides that regulations may be made prescribing short methods of reference to areas of the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ) specified in the regulations and the purposes for which those methods of reference may be used.

Subsection 92(2) of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations which require fish receiver permit holders (those persons authorised to receive fish from persons engaged in commercial fishing in a specified fishery declared under subsection 91(1)) to make and keep accounts and other records in respect of fish received by them and give returns or information in relation to fish received by them.

The Fisheries Management Regulations (the principal Regulations) prescribe matters in support of the Act, including the recording and furnishing of returns, and short methods of reference to the AFZ.

The Fisheries Management Regulations (Amendment) (the Regulations) amend the principal Regulations to implement three new matters:

*       the first matter relates to returns required to be submitted to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) by fish receiver permit holders. The Regulations amend subregulation 10B(3) to include the South East Non-Trawl Fishery as a fishery to which returns relate. The Regulations require holders of fish receiver permits who receive fish from a person engaged in fishing in the South East Non-Trawl Fishery to give to AFMA a return in respect of those fish. In addition, the Regulations require that such a return include a declaration by the receiver that they have observed the weighing of each species of fish received and a declaration of the weights observed.

*       the second matter relates to amendments to the boundaries of the North West Slope Fishery (NWSF) and the Western Deep Water Trawl Fishery (WDWTF) as defined in Schedule 1A, Part 6 and Part 12 and the inclusion of the area of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery as an additional part to the Area of Fisheries in Schedule 1A of the Act.

*       the third matter relates to the deletion of a reference to a sector within the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery, to take account of recent amendments made to the area of waters for the fishery in the Principal Regulations.

The Regulations commence on 1 October 1997. Details of the Regulations are set out below:

Regulation 1 provides that the Regulations commence on 1 October 1997.

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations amend the principal Regulations.

Regulation 3 omits paragraph 4C(1)(b) of the principle Regulations.

Regulation 4 amends Subregulation 10B(2) to add a reference to fishing in the SouthEast Non-trawl Fishery.

Regulation 5 inserts a new Part 3A to Schedule 1A (Area of Fisheries) to include the area of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery.

Regulation 6 omits Part 6 of Schedule 1A and substitutes it with a new Part 6 to provide for amended boundary area for the North West Slope Fishery.

Regulation 7 omits part 12 of Schedule 1A and substitutes it with a new Part 12 to provide for an amended boundary area for the Western Deep Water Trawl Fishery.