4Interpretation

#### 4 Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: > Administrator means the person or organisation that is the Administrator within the meaning of the Treaty. > AFMA means the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. > AFMA staff member has the same meaning as in the Fisheries Administration Act 1991. > AFZ means the Australian fishing zone. > approved means approved by AFMA or, in relation to a Joint Authority fishery, by the Joint Authority. > Australian boat means: (a) a boat: (i) the operations of which are based on a place in Australia or an external Territory; and (ii) that is wholly‑owned by a natural person who is a resident of, or by a company incorporated in, Australia or an external Territory; and (iii) that was built in Australia or an external Territory; or (b) a boat, not being a boat mentioned in paragraph (a) or a boat owned by a foreign resident that is under a demise charter, that is registered under the Shipping Registration Act 1981; or (c) a boat the subject of a declaration under subsection (2). > Australian continental shelf means the continental shelf adjacent to the coast of Australia and the continental shelf adjacent to each of the external Territories. > Australian fishing zone means: (a) the waters adjacent to Australia within the outer limits of the exclusive economic zone adjacent to the coast of Australia; and (b) the waters adjacent to each external territory within the outer limits of the exclusive economic zone adjacent to the coast of the external Territory; but does not include: (c) coastal waters of, or waters within the limits of, a State or internal Territory; or (d) waters that are excepted waters. > Australian‑flagged boat means a boat that: (a) is an Australian ship as defined in the Shipping Registration Act 1981; or (b) would be an Australian ship as defined in the Shipping Registration Act 1981 if it were a ship as defined in that Act. > Australian national means: (a) an Australian citizen; or (b) a resident of Australia; or (c) a body corporate incorporated by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory; or (d) any other body corporate that carries on its activities principally in Australia. > Australian resident means: (a) a person who holds a permanent visa (as defined in the Migration Act 1958) that is in effect; or (b) a New Zealand citizen who is usually resident in Australia or a Territory and who holds a special category visa (as defined in the Migration Act 1958) that is in effect; or (c) any other person who is usually resident in Australia or a Territory and whose continued presence in Australia or a Territory is not subject to a limitation as to time imposed by law. > being investigated for a fisheries offence, in relation to the holder of a fishing concession, means: (a) AFMA is investigating whether the holder has committed a fisheries offence; or (b) a law enforcement agency has notified AFMA that the agency is investigating whether the holder has committed a fisheries offence; or (c) the holder is charged with a fisheries offence. > boat means launch, vessel or floating craft of any description. > CEO has the same meaning as in the Fisheries Administration Act 1991. > charter boat means a boat that is being used exclusively for recreational fishing in the course of an arrangement under which money or some other consideration is, or is required to be, paid or given by or on behalf of a person or persons for the right to fish from that boat. > coastal waters has the meaning given by section 5. > Commission has the same meaning as in the Fisheries Administration Act 1991. > Compliance Agreement means the Agreement to promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas done at Rome on 24 November 1993, a copy of the English text of which is set out in Schedule 3. > computer function notice has the meaning given by section 163D. > conservation area, for a conserved fish stock, means the area to which the international fisheries management measure that covers the fish stock relates. > conserved fish stock means a fish stock covered by an international fisheries management measure. > conveyance includes an aircraft, vehicle or vessel. > cooperative enforcement has the meaning given by section 84B. > Cooperative Enforcement Agreement has the meaning given by section 84B. > dealing includes a transmission by operation of law. > defensive equipment has the meaning given by section 89A. > electronic decision has the meaning given by section 163B. > e‑monitoring means electronic monitoring. > e‑monitoring data means any data (whether or not that data is also personal information, within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988) that is, or was: (a) generated by; or (b) transmitted by; or (c) stored by; e‑monitoring equipment installed, carried or used in compliance with a condition imposed under section 40C of this Act on a fishing concession or scientific permit. > e‑monitoring equipment means: (a) a thing used for, intended to be used for, or capable of being used for, generating, transmitting or storing data; or (b) a thing that makes, is intended to make, or is capable of making, a thing covered by paragraph (a) operational. > evidential material means a thing relevant to an indictable offence, or a thing relevant to a summary offence, against this Act or the regulations, including such a thing in electronic form. > excepted waters means waters specified by Proclamation under section 11. > executing officer, in relation to a warrant, means: (a) the officer named in the warrant by the magistrate who issued the warrant as being responsible for executing the warrant; or (b) if the officer so named does not intend to be present at the execution of the warrant—another officer whose name has been written in the warrant by the officer so named; or (c) another officer whose name has been written in the warrant by the officer last named in the warrant. > FAO means the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. > fish includes all species of bony fish, sharks, rays, crustaceans, molluscs and other marine organisms, but does not include marine mammals or marine reptiles. > fisheries legislation means: (a) this Act or the regulations; or (b) another Act or regulations that are: (i) administered by the Minister; and (ii) prescribed under the regulations. > fisheries offence means: (a) an offence against this Act or the regulations; or (b) an offence against another Act that relates to a fishing concession (including an offence for unlawfully obtaining a fishing concession, for example). > fishery means a class of activities by way of fishing, including activities identified by reference to all or any of the following: (a) a species or type of fish; (b) a description of fish by reference to sex or any other characteristic; (c) an area of waters or of seabed; (d) a method of fishing; (e) a class of boats; (f) a class of persons; (g) a purpose of activities. > fishing means: (a) searching for, or taking, fish; or (b) attempting to search for, or take, fish; or (c) engaging in any other activities that can reasonably be expected to result in the locating, or taking, of fish; or (d) placing, searching for or recovering fish aggregating devices or associated electronic equipment such as radio beacons; or (e) any operations at sea directly in support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in this definition; or (f) aircraft use relating to any activity described in this definition except flights in emergencies involving the health or safety of crew members or the safety of a boat; or (g) the processing, carrying or transhipping of fish that have been taken. > fishing concession means: (a) a statutory fishing right; or (b) a fishing permit; or (c) a foreign fishing licence. > fishing concession certificate has the meaning given by section 163E. > fishing permit means a fishing permit granted under section 32. > fishing‑related activity means any of the following: (a) searching for, or taking, fish; (b) attempting to search for, or take, fish; (c) engaging in any other activities that can reasonably be expected to result in the locating, or taking, of fish; (d) placing, searching for or recovering fish aggregating devices or associated electronic equipment such as radio beacons; (e) the processing, carrying or transhipping of fish that have been taken; (f) the discarding from a boat of fish, marine mammals, marine reptiles or seabirds; (g) any other activity prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition; (h) any operations on a boat directly in support of, or in preparation for, any activity covered by another paragraph of this definition; (i) any other encounters with fish, marine mammals, marine reptiles or seabirds while engaging in any activity or operation covered by another paragraph of this definition; (j) any other encounters with the marine environment while engaging in any activity or operation covered by another paragraph of this definition. > Note: If an activity is prescribed by the regulations under paragraph (g) it is an activity covered by paragraph (g) for the purposes of paragraphs (h), (i) and (j). So, for example, an encounter with the marine environment while engaging in an activity prescribed under paragraph (g) is also a fishing‑related activity. > fishing right means a statutory fishing right. > fishing vessel of the United States has the same meaning as in the Treaty. > fish receiver permit means a fish receiver permit granted under section 91. > Fish Stocks Agreement means the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, a copy of the English text of which is set out in Schedule 2. > foreign boat means a boat other than an Australian boat. > foreign fishing licence means a foreign fishing licence granted under section 34. > foreign master fishing licence means a foreign master fishing licence granted under section 40. > highly migratory fish stock has the same meaning as in the Fish Stocks Agreement. > high seas means the waters that are: (a) outside the outer limits of the exclusive economic zones of all countries, including Australia and its external Territories; or (b) inside the outer limits of the exclusive economic zone adjacent to the coast of the Australian Antarctic Territory. > holder of a licence, permit or right: (a) means: (i) the person to whom the licence, permit or right was granted; or (ii) if the permit or right has been transferred—the person to whom the permit or right was last transferred; and (b) in the case of a statutory fishing right that is leased to another person by a lease registered under section 46—includes the lessee of the statutory fishing right. > international conservation and management measure means a measure to conserve and manage one or more species of living marine resources that is adopted and applied, in accordance with the relevant rules of international law as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: (a) by a global, regional or subregional fisheries organisation; or (b) by treaty or other international agreement. > Note: The English text of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is set out in Australian Treaty Series 1994 No. 31. > international fisheries management measure means a measure prescribed by the regulations to give effect to a measure established by an international fisheries management organisation. > international fisheries management organisation means a global, regional or subregional fisheries organisation or arrangement prescribed by the regulations. > international officer has the meaning given by section 84B. > Joint Authority means an authority established by or under section 61. > law enforcement agency means a government body that has responsibility for the enforcement of the laws of: (a) the Commonwealth; or (b) a State or Territory. > lease, of a fishing right, means a temporary assignment of the fishing right. > magistrate includes a justice of the peace or other person employed in a court of a State or Territory who is authorised to issue search warrants. > managed fishery means a fishery to which a plan of management relates. > master, in relation to a boat, means the master or other person in charge of the boat. > member, in relation to the Panel, means a member of the Panel. > Ministerial Council means a body (however described) that consists of the Minister of the Commonwealth, and the Minister of each State and Territory, who is responsible, or principally responsible, for matters relating to fisheries. > modification includes addition, omission and substitution. > offence against this Act includes an offence against section 136.1, 137.1, 137.2, 148.1, 148.2, 147.1 or 149.1 of the Criminal Code that relates to this Act. > officer means: (a) a person appointed under section 83 to be an officer for the purposes of this Act; or (b) a member or special member of the Australian Federal Police or a member of the police force of a State or Territory; or (c) a member of the Defence Force; or (d) an officer of Customs (as defined in the Customs Act 1901). > Pacific Island party, in relation to the Treaty, has the same meaning as in the Treaty. > Pacific Island party officer means a person (other than a person mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of the definition of officer) who is authorised by or under the law of a Pacific Island party to perform the functions and duties of an observer on Treaty boats. > Panel means the Statutory Fishing Rights Allocation Review Panel. > party, in relation to the Treaty, has the same meaning as in the Treaty. > plan of management means a plan of management determined under section 17. > port permit means a port permit granted under section 94. > PPSA security interest (short for Personal Property Securities Act security interest) means a security interest within the meaning of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 and to which that Act applies, other than a transitional security interest within the meaning of that Act. > Note 1: The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 applies to certain security interests in personal property. See the following provisions of that Act: (a) section 8 (interests to which the Act does not apply); (b) section 12 (meaning of security interest); (c) Chapter 9 (transitional provisions). > Note 2: For the meaning of transitional security interest, see section 308 of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009. > precautionary principle has the same meaning as in clause 3.5.1 of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment, a copy of which is set out in the Schedule to the National Environment Protection Council Act 1994. > premises includes a place and a conveyance. > Presiding Member means the Presiding Member of Australian Fisheries Management Authority Selection Committees appointed under section 139. > primary stakeholder has the meaning given in the Fisheries Administration Act 1991. > principles of ecologically sustainable development has the meaning given by section 3A. > processing, in relation to fish, includes the work of cutting up, dismembering, cleaning, sorting, packing or freezing. > receive, in relation to fish, means receive fish for any purpose other than: (a) personal or domestic consumption; or (b) solely for transportation. > Register means the Register of Statutory Fishing Rights kept by AFMA under section 44. > Regulatory Powers Act means the Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014. > relevant Treaty purpose has the meaning given by subsection (6). > scientific permit means a scientific permit granted under section 33. > sedentary organism means an organism of a kind declared by Proclamation under section 12 to be a sedentary organism to which this Act applies. > Selection Committee means an Australian Fisheries Management Authority Selection Committee established under section 141A. > statutory fishing right has the meaning given by section 21. > statutory fishing rights option has the meaning given by section 31A. > straddling fish stock has the same meaning as in the Fish Stocks Agreement. > take, in relation to fish, means catch, capture, take or harvest. > temporary order means an order made under section 43. > Treaty means the Treaty on Fisheries between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America that was signed at Port Moresby on 2 April 1987, a copy of which is set out in Schedule 1, and, subject to subsection (7), includes that Treaty as amended from time to time. > Treaty area has the same meaning as in the Treaty. > Treaty boat means a foreign boat that is a fishing vessel of the United States. > Treaty licence means a licence issued, for the purposes of the Treaty, by the Administrator in respect of a Treaty boat. > warrant means a warrant under section 85 or 86. > warrant premises means premises in relation to which a warrant is in force. > whale means any member of the sub‑order Mysticeti or Odontoceti of the order Cetacea. (2) Where: (a) a boat has been lawfully imported into Australia for a limited period; and (b) AFMA is satisfied that the extent of participation of citizens or residents of Australia, either directly or indirectly (whether through the holding of shares in a company or otherwise), in the control of the operations of the boat in the AFZ during that period, and the nature of those operations, will be such as to justify it in so doing; AFMA may, by instrument published in the Gazette, declare that, during that period, the boat is taken to be an Australian boat for the purposes of this Act. (3) AFMA may: (a) because of a change in circumstances, by instrument published in the Gazette, at any time revoke an instrument under subsection (2); or (b) by instrument published in the Gazette, extend the period for which an instrument under subsection (2) is to remain in force. (4) For the purposes of this Act: (a) in relation to a fishery or a managed fishery that is identified by reference to an area, a reference to activities in the fishery or in the managed fishery includes activities in that area; and (b) in relation to a fishery or a managed fishery that is identified by reference to any matter other than an area, a reference to activities in the fishery or in the managed fishery includes activities in relation to the fishery. (5) For the purposes of this Act, a charter boat, the person in charge of the boat and any other person fishing from the boat are taken to be engaged in recreational fishing. (6) A reference in this Act to a relevant Treaty purpose is a reference to the purpose of: (a) performing the functions and duties of an observer in accordance with Part 6 of Annex 1 to the Treaty or an observer program conducted in accordance with the Treaty; or (b) ascertaining whether the provisions of this Act have been or are being complied with on, or in relation to the use of, a Treaty boat while it is in the AFZ. (7) An amendment of the Treaty that alters the Treaty area that is within the AFZ or that alters a condition of a Treaty licence in a way that affects fishing by Treaty boats within the AFZ under a Treaty licence: (a) does not have effect for the purposes of this Act unless the amendment is declared by the regulations to have effect for the purposes of this Act; and (b) takes effect for the purposes of this Act on the day on which regulations mentioned in paragraph (a) take effect or on such later day as is specified in those regulations. (8) If an arrangement under Division 3 of Part 5 is varied, a reference in this Act to the arrangement is a reference to the arrangement as varied.