Commonwealth Northern Prawn Fishery - application 2018

« Commonwealth Northern Prawn Fishery

Environmental Assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Australian Fisheries Management Authority September 2018

Agency application on ecological sustainability

About the application

The current export approval for the Commonwealth Northern Prawn Fishery is valid until 09 January 2019 and the fishery is now due for assessment for ongoing export accreditation. The Department of the Environment and Energy received an application, Northern Prawn Fishery: Status report for re-assessment for export approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999’, from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority in September 2018. The application has been prepared to address the Australian Government ‘Guidelines for the ecologically sustainable management of fisheries – 2nd edition’ and to provide updates on the implementation of recommendations made in the previous Australian Government assessment. The application will be used to assess the operation of the fishery for the purposes of Part 13 and Part 13A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

Consideration will be given to:

• declaring the Commonwealth Northern Prawn Fishery as managed consistent with the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Cth) and the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992 (Cth), as an approved wildlife trade operation under section 303FN of the EPBC Act, and
• including in the list of exempt native specimens, specimens harvested in the Commonwealth Northern Prawn Fishery, as managed consistent with the Fisheries Management Act 1991 (Cth) and the Fisheries Management Regulations 1992 (Cth).

In accordance with the provisions of sections 303FR and 303DC of the EPBC Act, you are invited to comment on this proposal.