FISHING LEVY (SOUTH EAST FISHERY) REGULATIONS 1994 NO. 418

FISHING LEVY (SOUTH EAST FISHERY) REGULATIONS 1994 NO. 418

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 418

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Resources

Fishing Levy Act 1991

Fisheries Management Act 1991

Fishing Levy (South East 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 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. "Fishing concession" is defined under the Levy Act and the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (the Management Act) to mean, among other things, a fishing permit granted under section 32 of the Management Act.

Subsection 168 (1) of the Management Act empowers the Governor-General to make, among other things, regulations required or permitted by the Management Act to be prescribed. Sections 110 and 111 of the Management Act provide that levy imposed by the Levy Act is due and payable at a time or times ascertained in accordance with the regulations. Section 111 of the Management Act provides that the levy may be paid in instalments.

Fishing permits are granted each year to allow trawling in the area of the South East Fishery (the fishery) for, among other things, one or more of 16 specified species of fish (the 16 species). For the purposes of managing the fishery, two of the 16 species (Gemfish and Orange Roughy) are further divided into sectors, based on the zones in the fishery from which these species may be taken. This results in 19 quota sectors, which are described below.

The fishing permits allow specified quantities of each of the 16 species to be taken. The quantities of each of the 16 species that may be taken under a particular fishing permit are calculated on the basis of the number of units of quota from each of the 19 quota sectors that are included as a condition of the fishing permit.

The former Fishing Levy (South East Fishery) Regulations (the former Regulations) prescribed the amounts of levy imposed by the Levy Act in respect of the fishing permits. The amounts of levy were prescribed by reference to the number of units of quota from each of the 19 quota sectors that are included as a condition of the fishing permits.

The Fishing Levy (South East Fishery) Regulations (the Regulations) prescribe new amounts of the levy imposed by the Levy Act in respect of the grants of fishing permits. The levy is again prescribed at specified rates (described below), calculated on the number of units of quota from each of the 19 quota sectors that are included as a condition of the fishing permits at the time that the fishing permits are granted. In addition, the Regulations would:

• prescribe when those amounts of levy are due and payable; and

• repeal the current Regulations.

Regulation 19A of the Fisheries Management Regulations formerly prescribed when the levy was due and payable. Regulation 19A has been repealed.

Attorney-General's Department advised that the most effectual way to make the changes to the former Regulations that are embodied in the Regulations, is by way of repealing and remaking the former Regulations rather than amending them.

The new rates of levy for each of the 19 quota sectors prescribed by the Regulations are set out in the third column of the table below. For the purposes of comparison, the rates of levy that previously applied for the 19 quota sectors under the former Regulations are set out in the second column of the table.

The previous rates of levy relate to the 1993/1994 financial year. The new rates of levy relate to the 1994/1995 financial year.

Both of the previous and the new rates of levy for each of the 19 quota sectors were calculated using the method set out below. The method results in the management and research costs for the fishery being apportioned to each quota sector primarily on the basis of the return in that sector measured as a proportion of the return on the entire fishery.

•       The anticipated total management and research costs for the fishery are worked out for a particular financial year. These costs are described in detail below. The anticipated costs for 1994/1995 have fallen compared to the anticipated costs for 1993/1994.

•       The anticipated costs are apportioned to each of the 19 quota sectors on the basis of the most recent Gross Value of Production (GVP) of each sector, compared with the most recent total GVP of the fishery. The GVPs of the quota sectors used for 1994/1995 vary from the GVPs of the quota sectors used for 1993/1994, and the relative changes in the GVPs for each quota sector also vary.

•       The anticipated costs allocated to a quota sector are divided by the total number of units of quota for that sector to give the final rate of levy, in terms of cents per unit, for that quota sector.

•       For practical purposes, the levy per unit can be converted to an effective rate per kilogram of fish permitted to be taken. This has no effect in the Regulations, but is of relevance in managing the fishery, particularly the Orange Roughy quota sectors.

The method includes two modifications to take account of special management arrangements for Orange Roughy and Gemfish.

•       For Orange Roughy, which is divided into 3 quota sectors based on zones, GVP is calculated as the total GVP for all 3 Orange Roughy sectors. The levy per unit in each sector is then calculated to make the effective rate of levy per kilogram of fish caught the same in each sector. As the number of kilograms of Orange Roughy that can be taken under a unit is different in each sector, the levy per unit differs in each sector. This modification facilitates the trading of Orange Roughy quota between sectors.

•       In the Gemfish - Eastern Sector quota sector, the Gemfish stock is in collapse. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has prohibited the taking of significant quantities of Gemfish from this sector. This means that the GVP for the sector is very low. As AFMA. is investing substantial effort in managing the Gemfish stock to encourage its recovery, a rate of levy was calculated in 1993/1994 for the sector, to reflect the continuing management effort. The new rate is unchanged from the current rate.

The new rates of levy have been agreed by the Management Advisory Committee for the fishery, the South East Trawl Management Advisory Committee (SETMAC) and AFMA.

In accordance with the Commonwealth's current policy, the new rates of levy are calculated on the basis of recovering from the holders of fishing permits in the fishery:

•       100 per cent of the estimated costs of managing the fishery that are recoverable from industry in the fishery during the 1994/1995 financial year, in accordance with current Government policy; and

•       the contribution by the fishing industry in the fishery, to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC). This contribution is collected from the permit holders in the fishery and is calculated to be 0.25 per cent of the GVP of the fishery.

The anticipated management costs amount to $1,662,744 down from $1,977,020 for 1993/1994. The decrease is due mostly to the carrying over of unspent levy collected in 1993/1994, to 1994/1995. Both the underspending and the remainder of the decrease arose from efficiencies achieved in the administration of the management of the fishery. The FRDC contribution for 1994/1995 amounts to $164,648 an increase from $144,833 for 1993/1994. This is due to an increase in the most recent GVP for the fishery.

For most of the 19 quota sectors, the new rate of levy has decreased from the current rate of levy, as would be expected from the decrease in the total anticipated costs for 1994/1995 compared to 1993/1994. The decreases in rates of levy have not been uniform due to the variability in the relative proportions of the GVPs for each quota sector.

In 4 quota sectors, rates of levy have remained constant or have risen:

•       in the Gemfish - Eastern Sector quota sector, the rate of levy has remained constant for the reasons described above;

•       in the Orange Roughy - Eastern Sector quota sector, the rate of levy for 1994/1995 is higher than the rate of levy for 1993/1994. This takes account of changes made by AFMA in the relative numbers of kilograms of Orange Roughy that can be taken under a unit in each sector, so as to facilitate the trading of Orange Roughy quota, as discussed above; and

•       in the Royal Red Prawn and Spotted Warehou quota sectors, the rates of levy for 1994/1995 are higher than the corresponding rates of levy for 1993/1994. This is because the GVPs for these sectors have increased substantially.

Under the Regulations, the levy payable on a fishing permit is due and payable:

•       in 2 instalments, if the fishing permit is granted before 3 May 1995. The first instalment, of one third of the total amount of levy payable on the fishing permit, would be due and payable 28 days after the fishing permit is granted. The remainder would be due and payable by 31 May 1995;

•       as a single amount, if the fishing permit is granted on or after 3 May 1995. The amount would be due and payable 28 days after the fishing permit is granted.

As it is anticipated that most fishing permits for the fishery will be granted by early January 1995, the objective of the instalments scheme is to ensure that levy is collected, as far as possible, well in advance of the end of the 1994/1995 financial year, while allowing permit holders adequate time after the start of the season to make payment of the levy.

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

Regulation 1 provides for the citation of the Regulations.

Regulation 2 sets out definitions of terms used in the Regulations, in particular the description of the fishery and the terms used to describe the quota sectors. The quota sectors are described as scheduled species in subregulation 2 (1) and the scheduled species that are further divided by reference to zones are described in subregulation 2 (2).

Regulation 3 prescribes the amount of levy payable on a fishing permit. The levy is payable in relation to the units of quota included as a condition on the fishing permit at the time the fishing permit is granted. Subregulation 3 (2) sets out the formula by which the amount of levy payable on the fishing permit is worked out.

Regulation 4 prescribes when the levy is due and payable.

Regulation 5 repeals the former Fishing Levy (South East Fishery) Regulations.

Schedule 1 sets out the scheduled species.

Schedule 2 sets out the rates of levy for each of the quota sectors.

Schedule 3 sets out the zones within the fishery that relate to the quota sectors for Gemfish and Orange Roughy.