Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FISHERIES MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 410

STATUTORY RULES 1997 No. 410

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.

Section 4(1) of the Act defines a fishery as a class of activities by way of fishing, including activities identified by reference to amongst other things, an area of waters. Paragraph 4(4)(a) of the Act provides that for the purposes of the Act, in relation to a fishery or a managed fishery that is identified by reference to an area, a reference to activities in the fishery or in the managed fishery includes activities in that area. Section 32(1) of the Act provides that the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) may, upon application made in the approved form, grant to a person a fishing permit, authorising the use of a boat for fishing in a specified area of the AFZ or a specified fishery. Section 85(1) of the Act provides for the issue of search warrants in relation to offences against 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. Subparagraph 168(2)(e)(ii) provides that regulations may be made for the imposition and recovery of fees in respect of the making of applications under the Act.

The Fisheries Management Regulations (the principal Regulations) prescribe matters in support of the Act, including references to fisheries managed by AFMA, and the setting of application fees.

The Fisheries Management Regulations (Amendment) (the Regulations) amend the principal Regulations to deal with three matters:

*        the first matter relates to the inclusion of a reference to the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery as a fishery managed by AFMA listed in existing Regulation 4B;

*       the second matter sets an application fee for entry to the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery. The fee imposed is significantly higher than the application fee for fishing permits in other fisheries formally managed by AFMA. The fee represents the estimated costs to be incurred by AFMA in processing applications for fishing permits for the fishery. These are higher than is ordinarily the case due to the costs associated with the establishment of an expert assessment panel to make recommendations to AFMA on the granting of permits; and

*       the third matter relates to the deletion of the form of search warrant outlined in Schedule 1 of the Regulations as a prescribed form to be used by AFMA when executing search warrants, to take account of recent amendments to the Act by the Fisheries Legislation Amendment Act 199 7.

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 4B of the principal Regulations by inserting a reference to the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery as a fishery managed by AFMA.

Regulation 3 omits Division 1 of Part 4 which refers to warrants.

Regulation 4 substitutes a new heading for Schedule 1 and omits Form 1 from Schedule 1, which had been a prescribed form for search warrants executed by officers of AFMA.

Regulation 5 amends Schedule 2 (Fees) to include a new item 1A. Item 1A sets the application fee for the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery.