{"id":"F2019L00270","name":"Fisheries Management (Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery) (Closures) Direction 2019","slug":"fisheries-management-heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-fishery-closures-direction-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":98871,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2019L00270-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1 Name\n\n This instrument is the Fisheries Management (Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery) (Closures) Direction 2019.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n This instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\n This instrument is made under subsection 41A(2) of the Act.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 4 Definitions\n\n> Note: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 4 of the Act, including the following:\n\n (a) AFZ;\n (b) fish;\n (c) fishing;\n (d) fishing concession.\n (1) In this instrument:\n\n> Act means the Fisheries Management Act 1991.\n\n> Australian-France Maritime Delimitation Agreement Southern Boundary means the boundary between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Government of the French Republic established under article 2 of the Agreement on Maritime Delimitation between the Government of Australia and the Government of the French Republic, done at Melbourne on 4 January 1982.\n\n> Note: As of the date this instrument commences this Agreement is available in the Australian Treaty Series \\[1983\\] 3.\n\n> baseline means the baseline established under international law or otherwise as determined by Proclamation under section 7 of the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 from time to time.\n\n> Note: As of the date this instrument commences no such Proclamation is in force.\n\n> Fishery means the area of the fishery defined in section 3 of the Management Plan.\n\n> Heard Island Plateau means the part of the Fishery described in Schedule 2.\n\n> incidental take means the taking of fish unintentionally while fishing for commercial purposes.\n\n> holder means a person who is a holder of a fishing concession issued under, or pursuant to, the Management Plan that authorises the person take fish in the Fishery.\n\n> mackerel icefish means fish of the species Champsocephalus gunnari.\n\n> Management Plan means the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Management Plan.\n\n> Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands has the meaning given by the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Act 1953.\n\n (2) Geographic coordinates in this instrument are expressed in terms of the World Geodetic System of 1972 (WGS72).","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Schedules","content":"#### 5 Schedules\n\n Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Direction that fishing is not to be engaged in","content":"#### 6 Direction that fishing is not to be engaged in\n\n (1) A holder, or a person acting on a holder’s behalf, is directed not to engage in fishing targeting mackerel icefish outside the part of the Fishery that is the Heard Island Plateau during the period that this instrument is in force.\n\n> Note: Mackerel icefish taken as incidental take outside of the parts of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery described in Schedule 2 will be decremented from the holder’s quota holding.\n\n (2) A holder, or a person acting on a holder’s behalf, is directed not to engage in fishing in the part of the Fishery that is between 12 and 13 nautical miles of the baseline of the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands during the period that this instrument is in force.\n\n \n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nHeard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 1 2014\n\n1 The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument\n\nHeard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery (Closures) Direction No. 2 2014\n\n2 The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument\n\n \n\nSchedule 2—Heard Island Plateau\n\n1 Heard Island Plateau\n\n The area of the Heard Island Plateau is that part of the Fishery bounded by a line starting at the point described at item 1 in the table and running sequentially as described in the table.\n\n```html\n

Area of the Heard Island Plateau

Item

Description

1

The point of intersection between the Australian-France Maritime Delimitation Agreement Southern Boundary and the meridian 72°15′E

2

South along that meridian to its intersection with the parallel 53°25′S

3

East along that parallel to its intersection with meridian 74°E

4

North-easterly along the geodesic to its intersection with 52°40′S 72°E

5

North along the meridian 72°E to its intersection with parallel 52°S

6

North-westerly along the geodesic to its intersection with 51°S 74°30′E

7

South-westerly along the Australian-France Maritime Delimitation Agreement Southern Boundary to the point of commencement

\n```","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument maintains the original scope of fisheries management directions for the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Fishery. It replaces earlier 2014 directions with updated geographic definitions and continues the established regulatory pattern of spatial closures and species-specific restrictions. No significant expansion beyond the original purpose of managing commercial fishing in this remote sub-Antarctic fishery."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple external legislative cross-references: Fisheries Management Act 1991, Heard Island and McDonald Islands Act 1953, Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973, and an international treaty (1982 Australia-France Maritime Delimitation Agreement)","Geographic definitions rely on technical coordinate systems (WGS72) and complex boundary descriptions using meridians, parallels, and geodesics","Nested scope: applies to 'holders' acting directly or through representatives, with quota implications for incidental take","Dual prohibition structure with different spatial scopes (species-specific ban vs. total ban in coastal buffer zone)","Repeal schedule affecting two prior instruments, creating temporal layering"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument restricts fishing around Heard and McDonald Islands by prohibiting targeted mackerel icefish fishing everywhere except a precisely defined Heard Island Plateau and by banning all fishing in a narrow 12–13 nautical mile ring around the islands. It applies to commercial concession holders and anyone acting for them.\n\nThe changes replace earlier directions and aim to protect sub‑Antarctic ecosystems and ensure sustainable management of remote Australian fisheries."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This Direction replaces two prior closure Directions from 2014 (Schedule 1) and sets the operative scope of closures: confining targeted mackerel icefish fishing to the Heard Island Plateau and prohibiting fishing between 12 and 13 nautical miles of the Territory baseline (s6; Schedule 2). The repeal of earlier instruments and the newly specified spatial limits constitute a change in the operative closure regime."},"complexity_factors":["Detailed geographic description of the closed area using meridians, parallels and geodesics (Schedule 2) increases navigation and compliance complexity.","Reference to an international maritime delimitation boundary (Australian‑France Maritime Delimitation Agreement Southern Boundary) requires applying treaty boundary coordinates to the closure (Definitions; Schedule 2).","Dependence on other instruments: the Fishery and Management Plan are external definitions that determine the instrument's spatial scope (Definitions: ‘‘Fishery’’; ‘‘Management Plan’’).","Quota/accounting interaction: incidental mackerel icefish taken outside the Plateau are decremented from holders’ quota holdings, creating monitoring and enforcement obligations (note to s6).","Administrative elements — commencement on registration day and exercise of power under subsection 41A(2) of the Act — concentrate decision and timing authority in the regulator (s2; s3).","Repeal of earlier Directions (Schedule 1) affects legal continuity and requires operators to track instrument history for compliance.","Uncertainty about the baseline: the instrument relies on a baseline that may be subject to proclamation, noted as not in force at commencement, which can complicate precise application of the 12–13 nm band (Definitions: baseline note)."],"plain_english_summary":"**What it does:** This Direction bars fishing concession holders from deliberately targeting mackerel icefish outside the area called the Heard Island Plateau, and it prohibits fishing in the strip between 12 and 13 nautical miles of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands baseline while the Direction is in force (s6; Schedule 2).\n\n**Who pays and what changes:** Concession holders must avoid those areas; any incidental mackerel icefish caught outside the Plateau are deducted from the holder’s quota (note to s6). The Direction is made under subsection 41A(2) of the Act and repeals two 2014 closure Directions (s3; Schedule 1)."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/fisheries-management-heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-fishery-closures-direction-2019","history":"/api/acts/fisheries-management-heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-fishery-closures-direction-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/fisheries-management-heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-fishery-closures-direction-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/fisheries-management-heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-fishery-closures-direction-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/fisheries-management-heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-fishery-closures-direction-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/fisheries-management-heard-island-and-mcdonald-islands-fishery-closures-direction-2019/documents"}}