Volume 3, Issue 2, 27 January 2006
Seized catch up for tender
A highly-prized catch of Patagonian toothfish seized from an alleged illegal foreign fishing vessel will be offered for sale this weekend.
AFMA has invited tenders for the purchase and removal of 143 tonnes of Patagonian toothfish and 107 tonnes of bait seized from the foreign fishing boat FV Taruman (left, Customs and Fisheries Patrol Vessel Oceanic Viking, at rear escorts the FV Taruman into Hobart last year) .
The vessel was apprehended last year under suspicion of operating illegally in Australian waters around Macquarie Island. AFMA have since laid charges of illegal fishing against the Master and Fishing Master of the vessel.
Following the apprehension, the catch on-board the vessel was seized on the grounds that it was forfeited to the Commonwealth under Australia’s Fisheries Management Act 1991. Proceeds from the sale will be held by the Commonwealth until the conclusion of legal proceedings in the Federal Court.
The tender will be advertised on 28 January 2006 and further details are also available on our website.
THIS EDITION... |
Seized catch for tender |
SESSF operators are reminded that they have until close of business on 2 February 2006 to reconcile their overquota catches, including leasing in additional quota if necessary. |
AFMA Board Meeting: |
Looking for information on the $220M adjustment package
AFMA is assisting the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry in communicating information about the Australian Government’s $220M Securing our Fishing Future initiative.
To this end, AFMA has created a new web page to make it easy to find information on the various elements of the initiative. The page provides links to information on changes to Commonwealth fisheries management, the fishing licence buy-back scheme and proposed marine protected areas.
This new web page is available at http://www.afma.gov.au/securing_fishing_future.htm and can also be accessed from our home page, http://www.afma.gov.au by clicking on the Spotlight link on the right hand side of the page.
AFMA's in good form
Following industry feedback, AFMA has introduced new easy-to-use permanent transfer and seasonal lease application forms. The forms will help streamline transactions with industry and allow our Licensing & Quota Management section to implement more efficient and cost effective work practices.
The new forms are to be used to transfer and/or lease fishing concessions in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF), Bass Strait Central Zone Scallop Fishery (SCA), Southern Bluefin Tuna Fishery (SBT), Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) and Southern Squid Fishery (SQJ). A new application form for the transfer of permits is currently being designed.
The new application forms are available from our website or by contacting the Licensing & Quota Management section on AFMA Direct 1300 723 621.
WTBF gets weighed
On 16 December 2005, AFMA notified all persons eligible for a grant of statutory fishing rights (SFRs) in the Western Tuna and Billfish Fishery of their calculated weight under the Management Plan. Under the Plan, persons eligible for the grant of SFRs can give AFMA a notice stating that they disagree with their calculated weight – AFMA may then ask the eligible person to provide documents to verify their catch history.
The closing date for providing AFMA a notice disagreeing with your calculated weight is 31 January 2006. Please note that AFMA will be unable to accept any notice disagreeing with your calculated weight after this date. If you wish to disagree with your calculated weight, write to AFMA stating your disagreement by the closing date at:
Edward Ho-Shon
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
BOX 7051 CBC
CANBERRA ACT 2610
AFMA has received a number of notices disagreeing with calculated weight which are currently being processed. If you have any further questions regarding this matter, please contact Edward Ho-Shon on AFMA Direct 1300 723 621 or email Edward.Ho-Shon@afma.gov.au.
Norfolk Island Fishery Plan a step closer
The AFMA Board is seeking comments on the proposed approach for managing the Norfolk Island Offshore Demersal Finfish Fishery. The key element of the proposal is the development of a formal Management Plan which will allow two trawlers and five demersal line fishing boats to operate in the fishery for a period of 5 years.
Under the proposal, exploratory boat Statutory Fishing Rights will be sold by a competitive tender process. The fishing rights will be transferable and include a clear definition of the share and nature of guaranteed future rights beyond the 5 year Management Plan, should a sustainable fishery be developed.
Comments on the proposal are due by 17 February 2006. Further details on the proposed management approach are available from our website or by contacting Phil Domaschenz on (02) 6272 3274 or email phil.domaschenz@afma.gov.au.
Whale barf puts fishos in the money!
A fishermen and his wife discovered a foul-smelling lump on a South Australian beach early this month, only to be told later their find was actually a piece of precious ambergris, spawned from a massive whale vomit more than a decade earlier, and greatly prized for its use in perfume!
The lump, weighing 14.75kg, is 99cm in circumference and 60cm high.
Ambergris can fetch up to $US20 a gram ($27/g) overseas and is released by 1 per cent of sperm whales around the world, usually resulting from a massive belch from a whale which can be heard for kilometres away.
Fisheries expert Ken Levy said that to start with, it still has a putrid odour, but over years as it floats on the ocean and is worked on by the sun and the water, you are left with a very sweet, musky fragrance – a key component in making perfume. (Source: Andrew McGarry, The Australian 25/1/06).
