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

   entitlement to the fishery, rather than the symbol. It is proposed to establish a limited entry policy
   that is consistent across fisheries, which would require updating the Fisheries Regulation to limit
   the issue of new C2 fishery symbols.
67. Clarify the limited entry nature of commercial fisheries.
    It is proposed the Fisheries Regulation be amended to provide that new commercial fishing
    authorities (e.g. C1, T1, N2, L8, W1) cannot be issued. This would clarify that Queensland’s
    commercial fisheries are ‘limited entry’, which is important for sustainability. Access would be
    achieved by buying or leasing an existing authority. Restricting the number of fishery symbols that
    provide access to a fishery limits the potential number of platforms and helps prevent profits being
    distributed between too many fishers.
68. Consolidate and clarify ‘primary’ and ‘tender’ vessel requirements.
    There are currently a range of different requirements across our fisheries, so it is proposed to
    consolidate, streamline and clarify the requirements for ‘primary’ and ‘tender’ vessels. It is
    proposed that the Fisheries Regulation would be amended as follows:
       Provide that the maximum size of a ‘primary’ vessel is 25 m (with the exception of effort-based
        fisheries in which the maximum size for the East Coast trawl Fishery would remain at 20 m
        and the N3 fishery in the Gulf of Carpentaria fisheries would remain at 14 m).
       Limit the number of ‘tender’ vessels that can be operated under a Commercial Fishing Boat
        Licence and a Commercial Fishing Harvest Licence to seven with the following exceptions:
         a. Marine Aquarium Fish Fishery—1
         b. Coral Fishery—1
         c. Sea Cucumber Fishery—4
         d. Tropical Rock Lobster Fishery—8.
       Limit the maximum length of tender vessels to 7 m in length (with the exception of the harvest
        fisheries in which tenders would be allowed up to 8 m in length to provide a safe diving
        platform).
       In the Coral Reef Line Fishery, allow for the trading of existing tender vessels listed on RQ/L2
        authorities up to a maximum of seven tenders per licence (i.e. cannot create new tenders but
        can trade amongst the existing pool).
       Remove the distance restrictions that currently apply to tender vessels in all fisheries (as a
        result of the introduction of vessel tracking requirements). Australian Maritime Safety Authority
        requirements would still apply.
69. Clarify the requirements for ‘to-take’ in the commercial harvest fisheries.
    It is proposed to clarify the definition of ‘to-take’ for hand-collectable harvest fisheries to provide
    that the maximum number of persons harvesting only applies to the physical activity (i.e. divers,
    snorkelers) taking the resource from the environment. It is proposed to remove existing
    requirements from licence conditions and amend the Fisheries Regulation to limit the number of
    harvesters as follows:
    a. Marine Aquarium Fish Fishery and Coral Fishery—3
    b. Sea Cucumber Fishery—6
    c. Trochus Fishery—10


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