This month the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) is cracking down on threatened, endangered and protected (TEP) species reporting.
It is the fisher’s responsibility to report all TEP interactions. AFMA will be taking a zero tolerance approach to the non-reporting of interactions with TEP species in July 2016, and those caught not reporting will face penalties.
AFMA uses information from surveillance, observers and electronic monitoring to collect information to ensure that fishers are compliant.
An interaction is any physical contact a person, boat or gear has with a protected species, including catching and colliding with any of these species.
All AFMA fisheries are accredited under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act which requires fishers to report in log books any interactions which may occur during fishing operations. While fishers are required to take all reasonable steps to avoid interactions with TEP species, they do occasionally occur.
No offence has been committed as long as, operators report TEP interactions whilst fishing in accordance with fisheries management plans and associated concession requirements.
If an offence is identified, penalties may include:
- fines and court proceedings brought against skippers and concession holders
- possible closure of part or all of a fishery
- additional management arrangements placed on operators
- required use of additional mitigation measures
More information on how to report TEP interactions can be found at afma.gov.au.
AFMA takes the offence of NOT reporting interactions seriously; don’t get caught, just report.