South Australian Numbered Acts South Australian Numbered Acts (1) An object of this
Act is to protect, manage, use and develop the aquatic resources of the State
in a manner that is consistent with ecologically sustainable development and,
to that end, the following principles apply:
(a)
proper conservation and management measures are to be implemented to protect
the aquatic resources of the State from over-exploitation and ensure that
those resources are not endangered;
(b)
access to the aquatic resources of the State is to be allocated between users
of the resources in a manner that achieves optimum utilisation and equitable
distribution of those resources to the benefit of the community;
(c)
aquatic habitats are to be protected and conserved, and aquatic ecosystems and
genetic diversity are to be maintained and enhanced;
(d)
recreational fishing and commercial fishing activities are to be fostered for
the benefit of the whole community;
(e) the
participation of users of the aquatic resources of the State, and of the
community more generally, in the management of fisheries is to be encouraged.
(2) The principle set
out in subsection (1)(a) has priority over the other principles.
(3) A further object
of this Act is that the aquatic resources of the State are to be managed in an
efficient and cost effective manner and targets set for the recovery of
management costs.
(4) The Minister, the
Director, the Council, the ERD Court and other persons or bodies involved in
the administration of this Act, and any other person or body required to
consider the operation or application of this Act (whether acting under this
Act or another Act), must—
(a) act
consistently with, and seek to further the objects of, this Act; and
(b)
insofar as this Act applies to the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, seek to further
the objects and objectives of the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Act 2005 ;
and
(c)
insofar as this Act applies to the River Murray, seek to further the objects
of the River Murray Act 2003 and the Objectives for a Healthy
River Murray under that Act.
(5) For the purposes
of subsection (1), "ecologically sustainable development comprises the
use, conservation, development and enhancement of the
aquatic resources of the State in a way, and at a rate, that will enable
people and communities to provide for their economic, social and physical
well-being while—
(a)
sustaining the potential of aquatic resources of the State to meet the
reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and
(b)
safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of the aquatic resources of
the State; and
(c)
avoiding, remedying or mitigating adverse effects of activities on the
aquatic resources of the State,
(taking into account the principle that if there are threats of serious or
irreversible damage to the aquatic resources of the State, lack of full
scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to
prevent such damage).