COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

DECLARATION OF AN APPROVED WILDLIFE TRADE OPERATION

I, ILSE KIESSLING, A/g Assistant Secretary, Wildlife Trade and Biosecurity Branch, as Delegate of the Minister for the Environment, have considered in accordance with section 303FN of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) the application from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and advice on the ecological sustainability of the operation. I am satisfied on those matters specified in section 303FN of the EPBC Act. I hereby declare the operations for the harvesting of specimens that are, or are derived from, fish or invertebrates, other than specimens of species listed under Part 13 of the EPBC Act, taken in the Queensland River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery which comprises the T5, T6, T7, T8 and T9 areas of the ‘east coast trawl fishery’ as defined in the Queensland Fisheries (East Coast Trawl) Management Plan 2010 in force under the Queensland Fisheries Act 1994, to be an approved wildlife trade operation, in accordance with subsection 303FN(2) and paragraph 303FN(10)(d), for the purposes of the EPBC Act.

Unless amended or revoked, this declaration:

a)             is valid until 15 February 2019, and

b)             is subject to the conditions applied under section 303FT specified in the Schedule.

Dated this 15 day of February 2016

……….………Ilse Kiessling………………

Delegate of the Minister for the Environment

A person whose interests are affected by this declaration may, within 28 days, make an application in writing to the Department of the Environment for the reasons for the decision.

An application for independent review of the decision (under section 303GJ(1) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) may be made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), on payment of the relevant fee (currently $861 or reduced fee where applicable due to financial hardship) by the applicant, either within 28 days of receipt of the reasons for the decision, or within 28 days of this declaration if reasons for the decision are not sought. Applications should be made to the Deputy Registrar, AAT in your Capital City. Please visit the AAT’s website at http://www.aat.gov.au/ for further information.

You may make an application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) to access documents relevant to this decision. For further information, please visit http://www.environment.gov.au/foi/index.html.

Further enquiries should be directed to the Director, Sustainable Fisheries Section, Department of the Environment, Telephone: (02) 6274 1917 Email: sustainablefisheries@environment.gov.au.

SCHEDULE

Declaration of the Harvest Operations of the Queensland River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery as an approved wildlife trade operation, February 2016

ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS (section 303FT)

Relating to the harvesting of fish specimens that are, or are derived from, fish or invertebrates, other than specimens of species listed under Part 13 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), taken in the Queensland River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery

1.        Operation of the Queensland River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery will be carried out in accordance with the management regime in force under the Queensland Fisheries Act 1994 and the Queensland Fisheries East Coast Trawl Management Plan 2010.

2.        The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to advise the Department of the Environment of any intended amendments to the River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery management arrangements that could affect the criteria on which Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 decisions are based.

3.        The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to produce and present reports for the River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery to the Department of the Environment annually as per Appendix B of the Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries - 2nd Edition.

4.        The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to finalise and publish, by
1 March 2017, the outcomes of the River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery ecological risk assessment.

5.        The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to ensure that by 15 February 2019, any unacceptable risks to bycatch (including protected species) that are identified through the ecological risk assessment have been mitigated.