{"id":"F2025L00431","name":"Small Pelagic Fishery (Total Allowable Catch) Determination 2025","slug":"small-pelagic-fishery-total-allowable-catch-determination-2025","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442796,"registerId":"F2025L00431-fast-fetch-1775957733786","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Small Pelagic Fishery (Total Allowable Catch) Determination 2025","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\ntitle: small pelagic fishery TAC determination 2023\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n\n\n \n\nSmall Pelagic Fishery (Total Allowable Catch) 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\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Cessation\n\n4 Authority\n\n5 Definitions\n\n6 Determination of total allowable catch\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n1 Name\n\n This instrument is the Small Pelagic Fishery (Total Allowable Catch) 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 pursuant to subsection 17(1) of the Management Plan for the purpose of paragraph 17(6)(aa) of the Act.\n\n5 Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 3 of the Management Plan, including the following:\n\n1. total allowable catch or TAC\n2. sub-area\n3. western sub-area\n4. eastern sub-area\n5. Australian sardine sub-area\n\n\n In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Fisheries Management Act 1991.\n\nManagement Plan means the Small Pelagic Fishery Management Plan 2009. \n\n6 Determination of total allowable catch\n\n1. This section applies to the 2025-26 fishing season commencing on 1 May 2025 and ending on 30 April 2026. \n2. The total allowable catch determined in column 3 of the table is the total allowable catch of whole weight of fish listed in column 1. \n\n\n \n\n| Item | Column 1
Species of fish | Column 2
Sub-area of the fishery | Column 3
Total allowable catch |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 1 | Australian sardine | Australian sardine | 8 100 tonnes |\n| 2 | Blue mackerel | Eastern | 15 510 tonnes |\n| 3 | Blue mackerel | Western | 4 320 tonnes |\n| 4 | Jack mackerel | Eastern | 13 000 tonnes |\n| 5 | Jack mackerel | Western | 8 490 tonnes |\n| 6 | Redbait | Eastern | 6 470 tonnes |\n| 7 | Redbait | Western | 4 010 tonnes |\n\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument maintains the same narrow, technical scope as previous annual TAC determinations. It simply updates the numerical catch limits for the new fishing season without expanding into new policy areas or altering the regulatory framework."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (only 6 operative sections)","Minimal defined terms (only 2 explicit definitions in section 5, plus 5 referenced terms from the Management Plan)","No nested exceptions or conditional logic","Single straightforward table determining catch limits","Simple temporal scope (single fishing season)","No cross-references beyond the parent Act and Management Plan"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets the total allowable catch (TAC) for the Small Pelagic Fishery in Commonwealth waters for 1 May 2025–30 April 2026, allocating species- and sub-area-specific tonnage limits for sardine, blue mackerel, jack mackerel and redbait. It binds commercial fishers to those legal catch caps to prevent overfishing and sustain stocks; it expires 1 May 2026."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument does not change the statutory scope of the Management Plan or the Act. It implements seasonal TAC levels only — specifying tonnages by species and sub-area for 2025–26 (section 6) — and is expressly time-limited (sections 2–3). No new species, areas, powers, or regulatory obligations are introduced."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple species and sub-area-specific TACs (7 listed entries), requiring separate accounting and monitoring per stock/sub-area (section 6).","Time-limited single-season instrument with explicit commencement and cessation dates, requiring periodic renewal and administrative action each season (sections 2–3).","Dependence on definitions and allocation framework in the Small Pelagic Fishery Management Plan (cross-references to section 3 of the Management Plan in section 5), creating external dependencies for interpretation and implementation.","Legal basis rests on subsection 17(1) of the Management Plan for the purpose of paragraph 17(6)(aa) of the Fisheries Management Act, concentrating decision authority in AFMA (section 4).","Precise tonnage figures increase operational and compliance demands on fishers and managers to monitor catch against fixed limits (section 6)."],"plain_english_summary":"This determination sets fixed total allowable catches (TACs) — by species and by sub-area — for the Small Pelagic Fishery for the 2025–26 season. Made by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority under the Small Pelagic Fishery Management Plan and the Fisheries Management Act, it applies from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2026 and then ceases. It directly affects commercial fishers in the Small Pelagic Fishery by capping the annual whole-weight take for listed species and sub-areas."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-total-allowable-catch-determination-2025","history":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-total-allowable-catch-determination-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-total-allowable-catch-determination-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-total-allowable-catch-determination-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-total-allowable-catch-determination-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/small-pelagic-fishery-total-allowable-catch-determination-2025/documents"}}