EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by authority of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery Management Plan 2002

Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery (Total Allowable Catch) Determination 2019

Legislative authority

Subsection 17(5) of the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) provides that a plan of management made under the Act is to set out, amongst other things, the objectives of the plan of management and measures by which the objectives are to be attained. 

Paragraph 17(6)(aa) of the Management Act provides that a plan of management made may provide for the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (the Authority) to determine the fishing capacity permitted for the fishery or a part of the fishery in respect of a particular period or periods.  Such a determination is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (see subsection 17(6B) of the Management Act). 

Subsection 27(1) of the Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery Management Plan 2002 (the Scallop Management Plan) provides that, prior to the start of the fishing season, the Authority must determine the total allowable catch (TAC) for each species of scallop for the fishing year.  

Purpose

The purpose of the Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery (Total Allowable Catch) Determination 2019 (the Determination) is to determine the TAC for each species of scallop for the 2019 fishing season in the Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop fishery (the Scallop fishery).  The TAC for the commercial scallop (Pecten fumatus) is determined to be 3,897 tonnes (whole weight including shells) and for the doughboy scallop (Chlamys (Mimachlamys) asperrimus) is determined to be 100 tonnes (whole weight including shells) for the 2019 fishing season.

The TACs determined in section 6 of the Determination are consistent with the Harvest Strategy for the Scallop fishery which provides that, for a TAC of at least 2,000 tonnes for commercial scallops to be set for a fishing season, a biomass estimate report must illustrate that scallop bed(s) containing at least 3,000 tonnes of scallops of a minimum size limit of 85 millimetres and high density be located and closed to fishing. [1]

In this regard, the Authority is making a direction under section 41A of the Management Act, closing four scallop beds to meet this criterion, in concert with the Determination (see the Fisheries Management (Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery) (Closures) Direction 2019).  In that instrument, AFMA will direct that fishing is not to be engaged in in prescribed areas of the Scallop fishery being scallop beds meeting the abovementioned criterion in the vicinity of Apollo Bay, Flinders Island and King Island. 

The TAC for doughboy scallops is set at 100 tonnes as a default TAC as outlined in the Harvest Strategy, as a relevant survey has not been conducted for that species.  This species is not commonly targeted or retained in the Scallop fishery. 

Background

The Scallop fishery is located in the Bass Strait north of Tasmania.  It includes the area of waters from the Victoria/New South Wales border, around southern Australia to the Victoria/South Australian border, and is mostly located at a distance of 20 nautical miles of the Tasmanian and Victorian coastlines.

The Authority is responsible for the management of the Scallop fishery under the Management Act.  Management measures include a combination of input and output controls in the form of individually transferable quotas with a TAC determined for each quota species for each fishing year.  The main target species in the Fishery is the commercial scallop.  The doughboy scallop (Chlamys (Mimachlamys) asperrimus) is common throughout the Bass Strait and the area of the Scallop fishery however it is rarely retained.  The target species are caught primarily for the domestic market.

Consultation

Paragraph 27(3)(a) of the Scallop Management Plan provides that, before setting a TAC for a fishing year, the Authority must consult the Scallop Management Advisory Committee (ScallopMAC) and consider its views.  Under paragraph 27(3)(b), the Authority may also consider the views of other interested persons.

The Authority consulted on the proposed TACs for the 2019 fishing year with the Scallop Resource Assessment Group (ScallopRAG) on 6 June 2019, and with the ScallopMAC on 7 June 2019. The TACs and closures are consistent with the advice provided by both ScallopRAG and ScallopMAC on 6 and 7 June respectively.   

Regulation impact statement

The Office of Best Practice Regulation does not require a Regulatory Impact Statement for this determination consistent with carve-out arrangements with AFMA for instruments of a minor or machinery nature such as the setting of a total allowable catch for a fishery (OBPR reference 14421). 

Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

This legislative instrument does not infringe any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.  Accordingly, in the Authority’s assessment, this legislative instrument is compatible with human rights.  A statement of compatibility is included at Attachment A. 

Details of the Determination are set out below: