Volume 4, Issue 13, 21 June 2007 [see previous editions]
New Managing Director for AFMA
Glenn Hurry has been appointed as the Managing Director of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) and will commence on 2 July.
Mr Hurry has had a long and successful career in the Australian Public Service and has worked tirelessly on the development and management of fisheries in numerous roles.
Over the last two years Mr Hurry has led the Fisheries and Forestry Division in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and prior to that he headed up the Fisheries and Aquaculture Branch at DAFF.
Mr Hurry has an extensive and intimate knowledge of Australian fisheries and is known internationally for his pursuit of responsible fisheries management and Australia's interests in international fisheries management organisations.
Mr Hurry was also, until recently a Director of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, an organisation which plays a pivotal role in providing funding for fisheries research.
Chairman of the AFMA Board, Tony Rundle welcomed Mr Hurry and was very pleased to be appointing a Managing Director with such depth and experience in both fisheries and people management.
“Glenn has a long background in fisheries management and the Board and AFMA are very pleased with his appointment. We know that Glenn can really hit the ground running.”
“Glenn has been appointed at a very important time for AFMA and he will play a crucial role in leading the organisation through its transition to a commission on 1 July 2008.”
Fishers invited to talk with AFMA Board
The next meeting of the AFMA Board will be held in Maroochydore on 10-11 July 2007.
Commonwealth fishing concession holders based in the area are invited to join AFMA Board Directors for light refreshments at the Surf Bar, Maroochydore Surf Club, 34-36 Alexandra Parade, Maroochydore.
Date: Tuesday 10 July 2007
Time: 6:00pm to 7:00pm
RSVP to Milica Milanja on 02 6225 5400 or milica.milanja@afma.gov.au by Friday 6 July.
Provisional Grant of SFR’s in the SESS Fishery
Letters to all eligible persons in the SESSF fishery for the provisional grant of statutory fishing rights for elephant fish, school shark, saw shark and gummy shark have been posted this week.
The package that you can expect to receive contains details of the proposed amount of each species all eligible persons are to be granted. The package also contains information on the next steps in the process and you should read this carefully.
If you have any questions regarding the grant process or if you have been notified that you have been registered as eligible and you have not received your provisional grant letter please contact Senior Licensing Officer Brendan Kearney on AFMA Direct 1300 723 621 or directly on (02) 6225 5429.
Southern Bluefin Tuna Zones on the East Coast
The first set of SBT zones for 2007 will come into force at midnight on 26 June 2007. The location of the zones are as follows:
Core zone: northern boundary starts at the point where 37° South intersects with the east coast of Australia, moves east until the point 156° East, moves north until the point 34° South and then moves due east.
Buffer zone: northern boundary starts at the point where 34° South intersects with the east coast of Australia, moves east until the point 156° East, moves north until the point 33° South and then moves due east.
This year AFMA is trialing a cost-reduction strategy whereby fortnightly permit amendments are replaced with a once only amendment stating that the onus is on operators to know where the SBT zones are at all times.
Updates on the location of the SBT zones are available on the AFMA website or by calling the ETBF Manager on 02 6225 5373. AFMA will review the location of the zones approximately every two weeks.
Operators fishing in the core and buffer zones will require a minimum SBT quota holding of 500 kg to fish. At this stage, fish down of quota holding is permitted to 1 kg, but this may have to be reviewed if large numbers of SBT are landed. The required observer coverage changes depending on whether operators are fishing the core zone or the buffer zone, and on how much quota is held, as described in the table below.
Quota holding required to access zone |
Level of observer coverage required |
|---|---|
1kg – 20 tonnes (buffer) |
25% |
1kg – 2 tonnes (core) |
100% |
2 tonnes – 5 tonnes (core) |
75% |
5 tonnes – 10 tonnes (core) |
50% |
10 tonnes – 20 tonnes (core) |
25% |
> 20 tonnes (core and buffer) |
10% |
Update on Quotaview
Quotaview is now available for all Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) registered clients.
Over the past few weeks AFMA has been completing significant upgrades to the system, to make the service more reliable and effective for all Quotaview clients.
We would like to thank you for your patience during this time and advise you that the full Quotaview system is now back online.
If you have any queries, or still need to register or confirm your email address for Quotaview, please contact Ben Munstermann, Quota Management Officer, by phone 1300 723 621 or email quota.manager@afma.gov.au.
