COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

DECLARATION OF AN APPROVED WILDLIFE TRADE OPERATION – COMMONWEALTH SOUTHERN BLUEFIN TUNA FISHERY, NOVEMBER 2019

I, NATHAN SIBLEY, Acting Assistant Secretary, Environment Approvals and Wildlife Trade 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 Australian Fisheries Management Authority, public comments on the proposal as required under section 303FR 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, taken in the Commonwealth Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery as defined in the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan 1995 in force under the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Cth), but not including

(a)    specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 209 of the EPBC Act (Australia’s List of Migratory Species), or

(b)   specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 248 of the EPBC Act (Australia’s List of Marine Species), or

(c)    specimens that belong to eligible listed threatened species, as defined under section 303BC of the EPBC Act, or

(d)   specimens that belong to taxa listed under section 303CA of the EPBC Act (Australia’s CITES List).

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 11 November 2022 and;

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

Dated this       15th                 day of              November       2019

SIGNED

………….…….………Nathan Sibley………………………

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 and Energy 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 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, Wildlife Trade Assessments Section, Department of the Environment and Energy, Telephone: (02) 6274 1917 Email: sustainablefisheries@environment.gov.au.

SCHEDULE

Declaration of the harvest operations of the Commonwealth Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery as an approved wildlife trade operation, November 2019

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 and Part 13A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), taken in the Commonwealth Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery:

1.      Operation of the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery will be carried out in accordance with the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery Management Plan 1995 in force under the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Cth).

2.      The Australian Fisheries Management Authority to inform the Department of the Environment and Energy of any intended material changes to the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery’s management arrangements that may affect the assessment against which EPBC Act decisions are made.

3.      The Australian Fisheries Management Authority to produce and present reports to the Department of the Environment and Energy annually as per Appendix B of the Guidelines for the Ecologically Sustainable Management of Fisheries - 2nd Edition.

4.      The management arrangements for the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery to implement catch monitoring technologies which provide a high degree of confidence in the estimates of southern bluefin tuna catch in the purse seine sector.

5.      The management arrangements for the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery to begin accounting for all sources of mortality for southern bluefin tuna in Australian waters (commercial, Indigenous and recreational), following the delivery of the results of the national survey of recreational fisher effort, catch, release and harvest estimates of southern bluefin tuna by the Department of Agriculture.

6.      The management arrangements for the Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery to continue to implement all relevant measures agreed by the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna in the fishery, to the extent that these are within the remit of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, to support the recovery of the southern bluefin tuna stock to ecologically sustainable levels.