Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FISHERIES MANAGEMENT (SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA FISHERY) REGULATIONS 1995 NO. 7

STATUTORY RULES 1995 No. 7

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Resources

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Fisheries Management (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations

Subsection 168 (1) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management 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 will complement the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan 1995 (the SBT Plan), to be determined by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) under section 17 of the Management Act. By regulation made under section 8 of the Management Act, the Management Act and the SBT Plan apply to specified waters outside the Australian Fishing Zone. The SBT Plan is scheduled to come into effect on 3 February 1995 and will provide for the management of the fishery, inter alia, through the granting of statutory fishing rights and the nomination of boats in respect of which those rights are to be exercised.

Certain aspects of these matters can or must be supported by Regulations made under the Management Act.

Section 45 of the Management Act provides for the recording of certain information in respect of statutory fishing rights to be included in the Statutory Fishing Rights Register and provides for the inclusion of such additional information as is prescribed. Similarly, section 46 of the Management Act provides for the lodgement of dealings relating to Statutory Fishing Rights and provides for the prescription of certain types of dealings.

Details of the Regulations, which will commence on gazettal, are:

Regulation 1 The Regulation provides that the Regulations may be cited as the Fisheries Management (Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery) Regulations.

Regulation 2 The Regulation sets out the interpretations and definitions in the Regulations. In particular, the Regulation defines a nominated boat, processed form of southern bluefin tuna, the season in the fishery and the Southern Bluefin Tuna research program.

Regulation 3 The Regulation sets out the particulars of SFRs granted for the fishery, that must be included on the Register in addition to those listed under the Fisheries Management Regulations 1991.

Regulation 4 The Regulation provides for the use of Australian quota in the Southern Bluefin Tuna research program. As the fish in the research program are taken outside of Australian jurisdiction, the Plan and the Regulations in effect require that:

•       the use of SFRs in this way be recorded on the Register; and

•       when such a fact is recorded on the Register, the SFRs cannot be fished against by Australian boats or by foreign boats in the Australian fishing zone.

Regulation 5 The Regulation provides a system of nominating boats which can be used to fish in the fishery under the SFRs. The Regulation also provides for the means by which a boat may be entered as a nominated boat on the Register.

Regulation 6 The Regulation provides for a means of cancelling an entry of a nominated boat on the Register.

Regulation 7 The Regulation provides for a conversion factor from processed weights to whole weights - this factor allows the amount of fish taken (sometimes measured after processing) to be measured against the amount of fish allowed to be taken under the SFRs (always stated in terms of an unprocessed, or whole weight).