Volume 5, Issue 14, 1 July 2008 [see previous editions]
AFMA's Transition to a Commission
A message from AFMA CEO Glenn Hurry
On Thursday 19 June, the Senate passed legislation to allow AFMA to transition to a Commission structure and to allow AFMA staff to be brought into the Australian Public Service (APS).
Last Thursday and Friday, AFMA held its final board meeting. Today,
1 July, AFMA becomes a Commission and its staff transfer across to the APS. The AFMA Board with be replaced with fisheries Commissioners.
Of the major changes, daily operational issues (including foreign compliance) and the financial and HR aspects of the Commission will be the responsibility of the CEO and domestic fisheries management will be the responsibility of the Commission, with Commission decisions being implemented by the CEO.
I would like to thank outgoing board members for their service. Many of our Board members have served for a long time and have contributed much to the operation of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.
The CEO and Commissioners have been appointed for an interim period until 31 December 2008. The Commissioners are:
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The Hon. Tony Rundle
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Mr Ian Cartwright
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Ms Denise North
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Dr Keith Sainsbury
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Mr Richard Stevens
Over the next six months, longer-term Commissioners will be recruited and details of these appointments will be published on the AFMA website.
These changes will have only minimal effect on the way AFMA does business with Commonwealth concession holders; it will be ‘business as usual’ for the fishing industry but there will be some fundamental changes in the way AFMA is governed internally.
I look forward to continuing to work with AFMA’s new Commissioners and the fishing industry for the continued benefit of Australia’s fisheries.
Yours sincerely,
Glenn Hurry
CEO, AFMA
Image: AFMA Board members at final meeting on 26/27 June.
Marine Bioregional Planning Maps
AFMA, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA), has commissioned new maps that detail the location of marine regions and marine protected areas in relation to Commonwealth fisheries.
Compiled by the Bureau of Rural Sciences, these maps will be especially useful for fishers seeking to comment on Marine Bioregional Planning proposals.
Marine Bioregional Plans will be developed in each of Australia’s five marine regions and will act as decision making tools for the Minister and other decision makers when addressing matters relevant to the marine environment. Through marine bioregional planning, DEWHA will also establish new marine protected areas, to fulfill the Government’s commitment to the National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas.
The first stage of the planning process involves developing a Regional Profile of each marine region. These profiles will act as the information base for the development of a draft plan and the subsequent regional marine plan. The Regional Profiles will also set out the objectives for subsequent work to identify a Marine Protected Area (MPA) network for the marine region.
The period between the release of the profile and the draft plan (a period of 12 months) will include a process of consultation with stakeholders, including Commonwealth fishers. It is during this consultation process that fishers may wish to refer to the new Bioregional Planning maps. The maps are now available from AFMA’s website.
For more information, please contact Carolyn Stewardson, (02) 6225 5351 or carolyn.stewardson@afma.gov.au
Joint SESSF RAG Meeting
On Friday 27 June, a joint Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) Resource Assessment Group (RAG) meeting was held in Canberra, including the SlopeRAG, ShelfRAG, SharkRAG and Deepwater RAG.
This meeting was the first of its kind, bringing four of the five SESSF RAGs together for a joint meeting to discuss and collaborate on common issues.
The meeting was preceded by individual RAG meetings on Wednesday and Thursday which addressed issues specific to each RAG. The four RAGs then met to discuss issues they had in common, in order to develop collaborative solutions to common issues.
Recommendations from the Joint SESSF RAG meeting will now go to the Joint SESSFRAG Chairs meeting in August 2008.
If you have questions or comments, please contact Susan Osborn, (02) 6225 5423 or susan.osborn@afma.gov.au
SBT Core & Buffer Zones
Following the first capture of southern bluefin tuna off the east coast of Australia, the SBT Zones have been instituted in the ETBF for 2008.
The operation of the SBT zones in 2008 is similar to 2007 where the current SBT zones are posted on the AFMA website and provide detail of other arrangements that must be complied with.
Alternatively an update on the location of the SBT zones can be obtained by contacting the ETBF manager on (02) 6225 5313.
If you have any questions regarding the management arrangements associated with the SBT zones please contact Trent Timmiss on (02) 6225 5313.
