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Antarctic FisheriesSouthMAC meeting 13, 6 August 2001, CanberraChair's summaryTo expedite the development of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) Fishery Management Plan and Strategic Assessment Report the twelfth and thirteenth meetings of the Sub-Antarctic Fisheries Management Advisory Committee (SouthMAC) were held in quick succession. SouthMAC 12 was held in Canberra on 16 July and attended by all members with the exception of Margaret Moore and Mark Flanigan (permanent observer) who were absent due to illness. SouthMAC 13 was also held in Canberra on 6 August 2001 and attended by all members with the exception of Joe Pirrello. Gerry Geen attended as an observer for Everfresh. AFMA Board OutcomesAt SouthMAC 12 members noted that the Board out-of-session had endorsed the:
SouthMAC concurred with the Board's decision to exclude stone crabs. HIMI Management Plan TimetablesThe Committee noted two detailed timetables provided by AFMA relating to the development and implementation of the HIMI Management Plan. The Committee noted the tight deadlines which to be met in order to have the Plan gazetted and in effect by 1 December 2001. This includes public consultation in September for a period of 30 days. The Chair acknowledged the Committee's achievement in meeting all the required deadlines for the first half of the year in relation to the development of the HIMI Management Plan. HIMI Interim Management ArrangementsThe current Management Policy for the HIMI Fishery was extended until 30 November 2001 to allow for the development of the HIMI Management Plan. Members noted that even if the Management Plan is in effect on 1 December 2001, SFRs would not be granted until the appeals processes required under the Plan are complete. If no appeals are received it is estimated that this will take at least 28 weeks. The Committee agreed to recommend that interim management arrangements needed to be put in place during this period. The Committee agreed to recommend that interim management arrangements and allocations should mirror those proposed under the draft Management Plan. Under the transitional arrangements detailed in the draft Management Plan, Fishing Permits may be issued under the Fisheries Management Act 1991. Under these arrangements the Committee considered that:
Members agreed to recommend that quota transfers be allowed, however, if an operator fished with less than 25.5% of quota against their vessel they would be in breach of their Permit conditions. The Committee further agreed to recommend that Fishing Permits should be issued for the period 1 December 2001 to 30 November 2002. SouthMAC recommended:
Draft HIMI Management PlanFollowing the AFMA Board's adoption of the IAP's Report and resolution of all outstanding issues relating to the HIMI Management Plan 2001 the first draft of the Plan was prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting. SouthMAC 12 extensively reviewed the first draft of the Plan 2001 and recommended a number of changes. A revised draft was considered by SouthMAC 13. The changes recommended at both meetings were aimed at ensuring the Plan's compliance with previous Board decisions, new environmental requirements and operational practicality. The Committee considered the draft Plan to be generally well written and felt confident that the Plan could, with amendments identified during these two meetings, be delivered by 30 August 2001 for public comment. The meeting agreed that it would be essential to incorporate details of the Regulations, Directions and Conditions on SFRs as part of the process for effective consultation to take place, as a number of the items in the Management Plan cross refer to these and they are important facets of management for the fishery. These were not available for the MAC to review at the time of the meeting. AFMA indicated that an information package would be released in conjunction with the draft Plan. This package would contain an overview of the Plan and outline documents, such as Regulations and Directions that will be put in place to support the Plan. The Committee noted while AFMA is moving to formalise these legislative instruments as soon as possible, they do not need to be in place until SFRs have been granted and come into effect. Given the proposed interim management arrangements, this will not be until 1 December 2002. Some additional issues of note identified while examining the Plan included: Statutory Fishing Right Allocation Review Panel (SFRARP)While discussing the appeal processes within the draft Plan the Committee expressed concern over the fact that not all SFRARP members had been appointed. SouthMAC agreed that the Panel should be formed now, in order to eliminate any delays in the allocation processes under the Management Plan. The Committee agreed to recommend that AFMA ensure that SFRARP members are appointed prior to the introduction of the Plan. Carryover provisionsCarryover provisions are currently in place in the HIMI Fishery for toothfish. These are aimed at covering any unintentional over catches which might occur as a result of conversion errors when estimating weights at sea and any unintended over catch on the last haul of the season. The current Permit conditions allow for an over catch of 30 tonnes per operator per season with any over catch being deducted from the operators catch allocation for the next season. A number of members expressed concern at allowing this arrangement to continue under the Management Plan, particularly with an increase in the number of operators in the fishery. This could lead to the 4 potential operators in the fishery catching 120 tonnes of toothfish in excess of the TAC. While this possible over catch is taken into account in setting the TAC the Committee agreed there should be a disincentive in the Plan to avoid this situation. At the same time, it was recognised that operational issues with fish being caught and processed on the grounds (such as determining drip loss, conversion factors, and thaw testing) could inadvertently result in small overruns of the TAC as catch recordings at sea are only estimates. Operations over the previous 5 years have shown that estimates can be out by up to 5% of the total catch on a single vessel. The need to have a small level of carryover to cover these incidents was agreed by the MAC. It was also recognised that the 20 tonnes overcatch limit was being implemented to cover overcatch at the end of the season only, and under normal circumstances, the ability to trade (lease or purchase) quota to cover any overruns should eliminate any need to utilise the overcatch provisions. The Committee agreed to recommend that further to the Board's previous decision to allow for the carry over of toothfish catches, that the Management Plan provide for:
Strategic Assessment ReportAt SouthMAC 12, Ms Maguire, Environment Section, AFMA advised members that the draft HIMI Strategic Assessment Report was currently being redrafted following advice from the April 2001 meeting of the Sub-Antarctic Fisheries Assessment Group (SAFAG). She indicated that this draft would be distributed to SouthMAC and SAFAG for comment on 25 July 2001, with a view to having comments provided by SouthMAC 13 on 6 August 2001. Mr de Fries, Environment Section, AFMA, advised that the Report had progressed since the last meeting of SAFAG, with further improvements being made following feedback from Environment Australia (EA) on the draft Bass Strait Scallop Strategic Assessment Report. The Committee noted AFMA's intention to release the draft Report for public comment in conjunction with the Plan. Ms Maguire further informed the Committee that the HIMI Fishery specific Terms of Reference (ToR) were circulated for public comment, with a total of three being received. She advised that these comments were of a minor nature and did not require an amendment to the ToR and would be taken account of when addressing the ToR. Minister Hill subsequently endorsed the HIMI Fishery ToRs. At SouthMAC 13, the Committee considered a revised draft of the HIMI Strategic Assessment Report. Mr de Fries advised that if AFMA were to meet the proposed public release date of 30 August 2001 the Report would need to be amended and forwarded to AFMA's Environment Committee for consideration by 17 August 2001. Members provided a number of written comments for incorporation into the Report. The Committee generally felt that the report was not yet suitable for public release and expressed concerns over some of the wording of the Report and some missed opportunities to spell out the positive management and scientific arrangements in place vis-à-vis the principles and guidelines set down given the expected high level of interest in the report both locally and internationally. Consequently the Committee suggested that some major edits were in order and if time allowed requested the opportunity to review a revised Report prior to its submission to the Environment Committee. The Committee noted that, as the HIMI Management Plan can not be approved prior to the approval of the Strategic Assessment Report by EA there was a real challenge to get the SAR into shape quickly to meet the HIMI Management Plan release timetable. HIMI Marine Protect Area (MPA)Dr Conall O'Connell and Ms Barbara Jones from EA attended SouthMAC 12 to address concerns raised by industry and AFMA over the process undertaken to develop the proposed HIMI MPA. Dr O'Connell outlined the steps to date in developing the MPA. Committee members raised several concerns about possible shortcomings in the AAD report and the consultation process followed in developing the MPA, including the lack of reply to individual submissions. Dr O'Connell indicated that he was happy to reply to those submissions and acknowledged that perhaps EA could have undertaken a more thorough consultation process, and agreed that lessons could be learnt. It was noted that the MPA proposal and respondents' concerns were presently being considered by Minister Hill. Next MeetingThe Committee agreed that its next meeting be held in Hobart over 21-22 November in conjunction with SAFAG to provide for an exchange of information between the two Committees. It was also agreed that part of the 21 November also be advertised as a public meeting. Bill Nagle Page last updated 12 July, 2005 |
