{"id":"F2025L00430","name":"Small Pelagic Fishery (Overcatch and Undercatch) Determination 2025","slug":"small-pelagic-fishery-overcatch-and-undercatch-determination-2025","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442795,"registerId":"F2025L00430-fast-fetch-1775957733775","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Small Pelagic Fishery (Overcatch and Undercatch) Determination 2025","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\ntitle: small pelagic fishery overcatch and undercatch determination 2023\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n\n\n \n\nSmall Pelagic Fishery (Overcatch and Undercatch) Determination 2025\n\nThe Australian Fisheries Management Authority makes the following determination.\n\nDated 12th March 2025\n\n| Helen Kroger | Ian Dutton | Brett McCallum |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Chair | Commissioner | Commissioner |\n| Wez Norris | Sevaly Sen | Scott Spencer |\n| Commissioner | Commissioner | Commissioner
|\n| Sally Troy | | |\n| Commissioner | | |\n\n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Cessation\n\n4 Authority\n\n5 Definitions\n\n6 Determination of overcatch and undercatch\n\n \n\n1 Name\n\n This instrument is the Small Pelagic Fishery (Overcatch and Undercatch) Determination 2025.\n\n2 Commencement\n\n This instrument commences on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislation.\n\n3 Cessation\n\n This instrument ceases on 1 May 2026. \n\n4 Authority\n\n This instrument is made under subsections 29(5) and 30(3) of the Management Plan for the purpose of paragraph 17(6)(aa) of the Act.\n\n5 Definitions\n\n \n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 3 of the Management Plan, including the following:\n\n1. eastern sub-area\n2. western sub-area\n3. Australian sardine sub-area\n\n\n \n\n In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Fisheries Management Act 1991.\n\n Management Plan means the Small Pelagic Fishery Management Plan 2009.\n\n6 Determination of overcatch and undercatch\n\n1. This section applies to the 2025-26 fishing season commencing on 1 May 2025 and ending on 30 April 2026.\n2. For a species of fish specified in an item in column 1 of the table within the sub-area of fishery specified in an item in column 2 of the table:\n\n\n (a) the determined percentage of overcatch for the purpose of subsection 29(5) of the Management Plan is determined in column 3 of the table; and\n\n (b) the determined percentage of undercatch for the purpose of subsection 30(3) of the Management Plan is determined in column 4 of the table; and\n\n (c) the determined weight, in kilograms, of overcatch for the purpose of subsection 29(5) of the Management Plan is determined in column 5 of the table. \n\n \n\n| Item | Column 1
Species of fish | Column 2
Sub-area of the fishery | Column 3
Determined percentage (overcatch) | Column 4
Determined percentage (undercatch) | Column 5
Determined weight |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 1 | Australian sardine | Australian
sardine | 10% | 10% | 2 000 kg |\n| 2 | Blue mackerel | Eastern | 10% | 10% | 2 000 kg |\n| 3 | Blue mackerel | Western | 10% | 10% | 2 000 kg |\n| 4 | Jack mackerel | Eastern | 10% | 10% | 2 000 kg |\n| 5 | Jack mackerel | Western | 10% | 10% | 2 000 kg |\n| 6 | Redbait | Eastern | 10% | 10% | 2 000 kg |\n| 7 | Redbait | Western | 10% | 10% | 2 000 kg |\n\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument does not broaden or narrow the statutory scope of the Management Plan or the Act. It merely fixes specified overcatch and undercatch percentages and a weight for listed species/sub‑areas for the 2025–26 season (s6), made under the Management Plan powers (s4). Its effect is temporal and numerical rather than a change in regulatory scope."},"complexity_factors":["Direct numeric settings are simple and uniform across items (all overcatch/undercatch percentages 10%, weights 2,000 kg) (s6, table).","Temporal limits — instrument commences on registration and ceases 1 May 2026 — require administratively tracking validity (ss2–3).","Instrument depends on and cross‑refers to the Management Plan and the Fisheries Management Act for meaning, effect and enforcement; interpretation relies on those documents (s4, s5, s6).","Narrow scope: only seven species/sub‑area combinations are listed, reducing substantive complexity (s6, table).","No procedural detail in this instrument about adjustment, reporting or enforcement mechanisms — those obligations reside elsewhere, creating interpretive and compliance reliance on other instruments (s4, s6)."],"plain_english_summary":"This determination sets the allowed overcatch and undercatch rates (10%) and a per-species kilogram cap (2,000 kg) for specified small-pelagic species and sub-areas in the Commonwealth Small Pelagic Fishery for the 2025–26 fishing season (1 May 2025–30 April 2026). It operates under the Small Pelagic Fishery Management Plan and the Fisheries Management Act and therefore affects fishers operating in the listed sub‑areas by fixing the numeric tolerances they must account for during that season."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument performs exactly the function suggested by its title: setting overcatch and undercatch percentages for a single fishing season. There is no scope creep — it does not expand into enforcement mechanisms, penalty calculations, or broader fisheries management."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: 6 operative sections plus a table","Only 2 defined terms ('Act' and 'Management Plan'), with 3 additional terms incorporated by reference from the Management Plan","Single operative mechanism: a straightforward lookup table with 5 columns and 7 rows","No nested conditions, exceptions, or cross-references beyond the basic authority provisions","Uniform percentages (10% across all species/sub-areas) simplify application","Temporal limitation is absolute (automatic cessation on fixed date)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Determination fixes legal tolerance for quota discrepancies in Australia’s Small Pelagic Fishery for the 2025–26 season: fishers may be 10% over or under quota for specified stocks, but overcatch is capped at 2,000 kg. It applies to commercial quota holders (sardines, mackerel, jack mackerel, redbait, etc.), giving operational flexibility while limiting large quota breaches. Expires 1 May 2026."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-overcatch-and-undercatch-determination-2025","history":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-overcatch-and-undercatch-determination-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-overcatch-and-undercatch-determination-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-overcatch-and-undercatch-determination-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-overcatch-and-undercatch-determination-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-overcatch-and-undercatch-determination-2025/documents"}}