2015-09-15 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                     15 SEPTEMBER 2015


10                       QUEENSLAND FISHERIES MANAGEMENT REVIEW 2014
DOCUMENT INFORM AT ION




Author                           Environment Officer (Rivers and Coast) Jan Maddin
                                 Planning and Infrastructure Department

Index                            ECM/Subject / Waterways Management

Attachment                       Nil.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Environment Officer (Rivers and Coast) to the Planning &
Organisation Committee Meeting dated 15 September 2015 regarding the Queensland Fisheries
Management Review.

REPORT
A report was presented to the General Committee Meeting on 20 October 2014 providing
information about the Queensland Fisheries Management Review and recommended that Council
make a submission to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

In May 2015, the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries and Minister for Sport and Racing, the Hon.
Bill Byrne, released for public comment the independent Review Team’s report titled ‘Taking Stock:
modernising fisheries management in Queensland’.                The report can be found at
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/fisheries/consultations-and-legislation/reviews-surveys-and-
consultations/fisheries-management-review. A hard copy has been provided in the Councillors’
Room.

This consultation closed on 31 July 2015.

The purpose of this report is to provide Council with an overview of the recommendations within
the ‘Taking Stock … modernising fisheries management in Queensland’ report and to seek
Council’s preferred way forward regarding the level of future involvement in fisheries management
locally.

Overview of the fisheries management review

The Review Team received 280 written submissions from fishers, environmentalists, government
agencies and others. In addition extensive consultation was undertaken with stakeholders
including 16 public meetings from the Gold Coast to Torres Trait, with over 500 attendees in total.

On the whole, submissions tended to be focused on local (e.g. local closures) and specific issues
(e.g. minimum legal size of particular species) rather than ‘strategic’ or ‘systems and processes’
type issues.




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