Part 2Objects of Act

Part 2—Objects of Act 7—Objects of Act (1) An object of this Act is to protect, manage, use and develop the aquatic resources of the State in a manner that is consistent with ecologically sustainable development and, to that end, the following principles apply: (a) proper conservation and management measures are to be implemented to protect the aquatic resources of the State from over-exploitation and ensure that those resources are not endangered; (b) access to the aquatic resources of the State is to be allocated between users of the resources in a manner that achieves optimum utilisation and equitable distribution of those resources to the benefit of the community; (c) aquatic habitats are to be protected and conserved, and aquatic ecosystems and genetic diversity are to be maintained and enhanced; (d) recreational fishing and commercial fishing activities are to be fostered for the benefit of the whole community; (e) the participation of users of the aquatic resources of the State, and of the community more generally, in the management of fisheries is to be encouraged. (2) The principle set out in subsection (1)(a) has priority over the other principles. (3) A further object of this Act is that the aquatic resources of the State are to be managed in an efficient and cost effective manner and targets set for the recovery of management costs. (4) The Minister, the Director, the ERD Court and other persons or bodies involved in the administration of this Act, and any other person or body required to consider the operation or application of this Act (whether acting under this Act or another Act), must— (a) act consistently with, and seek to further the objects of, this Act; and (b) insofar as this Act applies to the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, seek to further the objects and objectives of the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Act 2005; and (c) insofar as this Act applies to the River Murray, seek to further the objects of the River Murray Act 2003 and the Objectives for a Healthy River Murray under that Act; and (d) insofar as this Act applies to areas within a marine park, seek to further the objects of the Marine Parks Act 2007. (5) For the purposes of subsection (1), ecologically sustainable development comprises the use, conservation, development and enhancement of the aquatic resources of the State in a way, and at a rate, that will enable people and communities to provide for their economic, social and physical well-being while— (a) sustaining the potential of aquatic resources of the State to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and (b) safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of the aquatic resources of the State; and (c) avoiding, remedying or mitigating adverse effects of activities on the aquatic resources of the State, (taking into account the principle that if there are threats of serious or irreversible damage to the aquatic resources of the State, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent such damage).