Part Part 8 - Great Australian Bight Marine Park (Commonwealth Waters) Management Plan 2005–2012 - of the EPBC Regulations regulates the way aircraft, vessels and humans can operate in the proximity of cetaceans. | Zoe
Part 8 of the EPBC Regulations regulates the way aircraft, vessels and humans can operate in the proximity of cetaceans.
Other Commonwealth laws also contribute to protecting the Park from the impacts of shipping and aviation.
The Air Navigation Act 1920 implements the terms of the Chicago Convention and preserves the right of licensed international air services to fly across and land in Australian territory. Every aircraft in Australia must comply with the Air Navigation (Aircraft Noise) Regulations. Airservices Australia is responsible for ensuring compliance with aircraft noise regulations.
Various Commonwealth laws, particularly the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983, implement the MARPOL 73/78 Convention and other international agreements relevant to ‘protection of the sea’ from the environmental impacts of shipping, including fishing vessels. These laws restrict the discharge of polluting substances, such as oily mixtures and plastics, from vessels into the sea. Under these laws the master of a vessel involved in a pollution incident must report the incident. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and the Western and South Australian governments are responsible for applying these laws in Australian waters in the region of the Park.
The prescriptions below apply generally to entry and use of the Park. Sections 6.2 to 6.5 establish specific additional controls for how recreational fishing, research, commercial activities (including commercial fishing) and mining operations can be carried on in the Park.
6.1.1 The determination under r.12.56 of the EPBC Regulations prohibiting use of vessels in the Marine Mammal Protection Zone from 1 May to 31 October inclusive each year will be maintained subject to any further determination being made under Section 6.1.5.
6.1.2 All activities carried on in the Marine Mammal Protection Zone (except foreign vessels enjoying the right of innocent passage in accordance with UNCLOS) are subject to the determination referred to in Section 6.1.1 above, and any permits issued authorising activities in the zone will be subject to conditions requiring compliance with the determination.
Note: Regulation 12.56 does not prevent law enforcement and emergency response operations e.g. by Customs, Coastwatch and the Australian Defence Force.
6.1.3 The Director may in exceptional cases issue a permit for the purposes of r.12.56, authorising use of a vessel in the Marine Mammal Protection Zone during the closure period.
6.1.4 The Director will collate and review any reports of:
a. southern right whales being seen in the Great Australian Bight other than during the period from 1 May to 31 October inclusive each year, and
b. vessels or aircraft disturbing southern right whales or Australian Sea-lions in the Marine Mammal Protection Zone.
6.1.5 Should any significant additional risk to biodiversity values be identified, under Section 6.1.4 the Director may further control entry to and use of the Marine Mammal Protection Zone (including to make further determinations under the EPBC Regulations).
6.2 Fishing other than commercial fishing
Aim: To protect the Park by allowing people to carry on fishing other than commercial fishing only if it is consistent with protecting the conservation values of the Park
Number of infringement notices and successful prosecutions conducted.
Section 354 of the EPBC Act prohibits the killing, injuring, taking, trading, keeping or moving of a member of a native species, including all native fish and marine invertebrates, in the Park except in accordance with this Management Plan.
Regulation 12.35 of the EPBC Regulations (which operates subject to s.354(1) of the EPBC Act and this Management Plan) allows for recreational (non-commercial) fishing subject to a number of specific restrictions, and determinations made by the Director.
Regulation 12.35 says that a person who is fishing must not use underwater breathing apparatus and must not catch fish using equipment other than lines, hooks and lures. It also prohibits use of live bait or native species as bait (other than a species of fish), leaving a fishing line unattended and cleaning or filleting fish within a marine area.
Under r.12.35, the Director may make determinations prohibiting recreational fishing or specifying conditions such as:
gear that must or cannot be carried or used
the kind, number or size of fish that can be taken.
The operation of r.12.35 is subject to this Management Plan.
Section 6.1 of this Management Plan controls the way people can enter and use the Park.
6.2.1 Subject to Section 6.1, a person may carry on recreational fishing in accordance with r.12.35 of the EPBC Regulations.
6.2.2 The Director may further control the way people can carry out recreational fishing, including making determinations under r.12.35.
6.3 Commercial and scientific activities
Aim: To protect the Park by allowing people to carry on commercial and scientific activities only if they are consistent with protecting the conservation values of the Park
Number of permits issued and refused.
Number of targeted scientific surveys and research programs.
Section 354 of the EPBC Act prohibits certain actions in the Park except in accordance with this Management Plan, including killing, injuring, taking, trading, keeping or moving a member of a native species; and actions for commercial purposes (see Section 2.3). Section 355 of the EPBC Act prohibits mining operations except in accordance with this Plan, and with approval from the Governor-General.
Research in the Park is prohibited by r.12.10 of the EPBC Regulations unless authorised by this Management Plan or a permit issued by the Director (or unless one of the other exceptions prescribed by r.12.06 of the EPBC Regulations applies). Research that involves taking, keeping, killing, injuring, trading, or moving native species, or is undertaken for commercial purposes, is prohibited by s.354(1) of the EPBC Act except in accordance with this Plan. Research that affects listed threatened species or ecological communities, listed migratory species, cetaceans or listed marine species is also regulated under Part 13 of the Act.
Regulation 12.36 of the EPBC Regulations deems that commercial activities carried out up to 3000 metres above sea level in the Park require a permit to be held unless authorised by a management plan. This part of the Plan provides for commercial aviation over the Park to continue without the need for a permit.
Further to Section 2.4 of this Management Plan, a person who wishes to carry out whale watching in the Park may require a permit issued by the Director unless they have a permit from the Minister under s.238 of the EPBC Act and they must comply with Part 8 of the EPBC Regulations, in addition to the requirements of this Management Plan.
Section 301 of the EPBC Act authorises the EPBC Regulations to provide for the control of access to biological resources in Commonwealth areas, which include the Park. At the time of preparation of this Plan, regulations were being prepared to control the taking of biological resources of native species for conservation, commercial application or industrial application of, or research on, any genetic resources, or biomolecules, comprising or contained in the biological resources.
Permits issued under the EPBC Regulations to authorise activities in the Park contain additional conditions that apply to the conduct of activities in the Park. For example, a permit may require that the person conducting the activity hold appropriate insurance. For most activities the Director requires permit holders to provide a report about their activities in the Park, including dates, locations used and details of incidents such as bycatch of protected species, and also a copy of any scientific information produced. Information about applying for a permit is available on the Department’s website. At the time of preparation of this Plan this information is at www.deh.gov.au/epbc/permits.
The prescriptions in this part of the Management Plan provide for a broad range of commercial and research activities to occur in the Park, including emerging activities that are not otherwise specified in this Management Plan. Examples of activities that could occur in the Park include scientific research, commercial tour operations and bioprospecting.
Sections 5.1 and 5.2 of this Management Plan set out ways research programs on Park values will be facilitated.
Section 6.1 controls the way people can enter and use the Park.
Section 6.4 establishes specific controls for how commercial fishing can be carried on in the Park, including limits on who can obtain a permit.
Section 6.5 controls mining operations in the Park.
6.3.1 Subject to Sections 6.1, 6.3.2 and 6.3.3 commercial activities and scientific research activities (including activities that involve actions affecting members of native species) may be carried on in the Park only in accordance with a permit issued by the Director under the EPBC Regulations.
Note: The prescriptions in Sections 6.3.2 and 6.3.3 are in addition to 6.3.1.
6.3.2 Actions affecting species protected under Part 13 of the Act may be carried on in the Park in accordance with a permit issued by the Minister.
6.3.3 A person may access biological resources in the Park in accordance with applicable regulations made for the purposes of s.301 of the EPBC Act.
6.3.4 The Director will issue a permit for the purposes of Section 6.3.1 only after assessing an application in accordance with Part 17 of the EPBC Regulations, and only if the proposed activity:
a. is consistent with the applicable Australian IUCN reserve management principles; and
b. is not likely to compromise the protection of biological diversity or the Park’s conservation values, whether by itself or in combination with other natural or human influences; and
c. contributes to:
i. regional or national development, including commercial activities that help to support the region’s communities; or
ii. understanding the marine environment and how human activities impact on it; or
iii. effective management of the Park.
6.3.5 Aircraft may be operated for commercial purposes without a permit in the airspace between the Benthic Protection Zone and 3000 metres above mean sea level in accordance with other Commonwealth laws.
Note: This does not authorise operations in the area of overlap with the Marine Mammal Protection Zone. Section 6.3.6 applies.
6.3.6 Aircraft may be operated for commercial purposes in the airspace between the Marine Mammal Protection Zone and 3000 metres above mean sea level in accordance with r.8.05 of the EPBC Regulations and other Commonwealth laws provided that use of an aircraft in the airspace over the Marine Mammal Protection Zone does not interfere with whales (see background for Section 6.3 of this Management Plan).
6.4 Commercial fishing
Aim: To protect the Park by allowing people to carry on commercial fishing only if it is consistent with protecting the conservation values of the Park
Number of permits issued and refused.
Presence of fishing debris.
As outlined in Section 2.3, s.354 of the EPBC Act prohibits the killing, injuring, taking, trading, keeping or moving of a member of a native species, including all native fish and marine invertebrates, and commercial actions in the Park except in accordance with this Management Plan. This section sets out the arrangements for how commercial fishing may be carried on in the Park.
Regulation 12.34 of the EPBC Regulations (which operates subject to s.354(1) of the EPBC Act and this Management Plan) says that commercial fishing can be carried on in a Commonwealth reserve under a permit issued by the Director, or under a Commonwealth or State law. The Regulation also says the Director may make determinations controlling fishing gear and fishing practices.
The Australian Fisheries Management Authority manages fishing activities and fisheries in the Australian Fishing Zone under the provisions of the Fisheries Management Act 1991. The Australian Fishing Zone extends from three nautical miles offshore (the limit of State/NT coastal waters) to the outer limits of Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (generally 200 nautical miles offshore) and includes the waters of the Park. The Fisheries Act 1982 (SA) regulates fishing and fisheries within the coastal waters of the State. At the time of preparation of this Plan, Primary Industries and Resources South Australia administers the Act. Some of the State fisheries extend into the Australian Fishing Zone and the Park, and are managed by the South Australian Government in accordance with arrangements made under the Fisheries Management Act.
The fisheries operating in the Park at the time of preparing this Plan are listed in Box 1.
Management of Commonwealth and State fisheries is designed to ensure Australia’s commercial fisheries are ecologically sustainable and includes:
measures to reduce bycatch, including the accidental taking of protected species; and
reporting of the impact on the general ecosystem of extracting commercial, non-target and bycatch species.
In addition to the requirements of this Management Plan, other provisions of the EPBC Act are relevant to commercial fishing in the Park.
As noted in Section 2.4 of this Plan, Part 13 of the EPBC Act prohibits actions affecting individual members of listed threatened species and ecological communities, listed migratory species, cetaceans, and listed marine species in the Park unless authorised by a permit issued by the Minister, or another exemption applies. Other exemptions include actions under a management plan for, or regime for managing, a fishery that has been accredited for the purposes of Part 13. Actions affecting species protected under Part 13 that are not an offence, and not being done under a permit issued by the Minister, must be reported to the Secretary of the Department.
As also noted in Section 2.4, Part 3 of the EPBC Act protects certain matters of national environmental significance, including listed threatened and migratory species and the marine environment, from significant impacts. Part 10 of the EPBC Act provides for the Minister to assess the impacts of all fisheries managed under the Fisheries Management Act 1991 on the matters protected by Part 3 of the EPBC Act. These assessments can lead to endorsement of a management plan for, or regime for managing, a fishery, and a declaration under s.33 accrediting the plan or regime for the purposes of Part 3 of the Act. Actions under a plan or regime accredited under s.33 are also exempt from prohibitions in Part 13 of the Act.