FISHING LEVY (GREAT AUSTRALIAN BIGHT TRAWL FISHERY) REGULATIONS 1993 NO. 364

FISHING LEVY (GREAT AUSTRALIAN BIGHT TRAWL FISHERY) REGULATIONS 1993 NO. 364

STATUTORY RULES 1993 No. 364

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy

Fishing Levy Act 1991

Fishing Levy (Great Australian Bight Trawl Fishery) Regulations

Section 8 of the Fishing Levy Act 1991 (the Levy Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of section 6 of the Levy Act.

Section 5 of the Levy Act imposes levy in respect of a fishing concession. Section 6 of the Levy Act provides that the amount of levy imposed on the fishing concession is the amount prescribed by the Regulations.

The principal Regulations specify the amount of levy imposed in respect of statutory fishing rights granted under the Great Australian Bight Trawl Fishery Management Plan (the Management Plan). The effect of the principal Regulations is to require the payment of levy in the amount of $10,580 per statutory fishing right in the year that the fishing fight is granted and further amounts of $10,580 for each subsequent year that the statutory fishing right is in force.

The Regulations amend the principal Regulations to reduce these amounts of levy from $10,580 to $9,703. This reduction reflects the reduced estimated costs of managing the Great Australian Bight Trawl Fishery (the fishery) in 1993/1994 compared to 1992/93. This is consistent with a reduced level of management activity in the fishery, following implementation of the Management Plan in mid-1993.

The majority of the new amount of levy ($8,936) is calculated on the basis of recovering 90 per cent of the costs of managing the fishery during the 1993/1994 financial year from the holders of statutory fishing rights in the fishery, in accordance with current Commonwealth policy. Ten statutory fishing rights have been granted in the fishery.

The remainder of the levy ($767) is calculated on the basis of recovering the contribution of the Great Australian Bight trawl fishing industry to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. This contribution is recovered equally from each of the holders of statutory fishing rights in the fishery and is calculated to be 0.25 per cent of the Gross Value of Product of the fishery.

Details of the Regulations, which commenced on gazettal, are set out below:

Regulation 1 provides that the Regulations amend the principal Regulations.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 3 of the principal Regulations to implement the new rate of levy of $9,703.