2019-07-18 OM Agenda - Item 1 - Attachment 2 - Fisheries Regulation Discussion Paper

56. Standardise reporting requirements.
    It is proposed to consolidate, clarify and enhance the existing requirements for existing quota
    species (i.e. coral trout, spanner crab, Spanish mackerel) along with the new quota and TACC
    species. It is proposed that the Fisheries Regulation be amended to:
       standardise logbook requirements for all commercial fisheries
       introduce pre-trip commitment requirements
       standardise reporting requirements
         -   consolidate all existing quota reporting requirements (C2, RQ, SM and T4)
         -   amend reporting terminology and clarify requirements generally
       implement and standardise reporting requirements for all quota and TACC species, at the
        species level—commercial fishers would be required to
         -   report before landing through a ‘catch notice’ (replaces the existing ‘prior notice’) the total
             number of pieces/cartons/bins for each species by product form
         -   report after landing, accurate numbers and weights through a ‘weight notice’ at the end of
             a trip (replaces the existing ‘unload notice’ and ‘estimate of weights’)
         -   report the disposal of all product through a catch disposal record
       prescribe that fishing trip information (i.e. all catch, effort and disposal information) can be
        completed using electronic applications
       remove the existing reporting requirements for fishers to wait 1 hour before landing product.
       In 2021, the proposal is to move to electronic reporting. This would require that all commercial
        fishers would need to report accurate weights of all species and report catch and effort
        information using prescribed electronic applications.
57. Expand the sales docket requirements.
    To differentiate between legitimate catch from an appropriately authorised commercial fisher and
    illegal or black-marketed products, it is proposed to require dockets to be kept for all transactions
    of the sale of fisheries resources. Sales dockets would need to be kept for all sales from the
    commercial fisher through to the final retail sale point. Additionally, docket requirements would also
    apply to businesses involved in the processing and storage of fisheries resources. Retail
    customers would not be required to retain a docket for the purchase of seafood products.
58. Amend how vessels are measured to align with marine safety legislation.
    It is proposed to apply the vessel dimensions outlined on the Certificate of Operation and/or
    Certificate of Survey issued by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to minimise
    confusion about measuring of vessels. For trawl vessels, the AMSA information would be used to
    calculate the vessels hull units. This would align fisheries legislation with the National Standards
    for Commercial Vessels and simplify the evidence required to licence a vessel to operate in
    Queensland fisheries.
59. Amend the payment of commercial fishing fees from ‘in arrears’ to ‘in advance’.
    It is proposed that all fees would be charged in advance, similar to car and boat registrations and
    licences. To transition to ‘payment in advance’ the final ‘in arrears’ invoice would be issued on
    1 January 2020 for the period 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019. On 1 July 2020 all fees would be
    invoiced for 12 months in advance. Similar to boat registration, a 6-monthly payment option would


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