Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 (Qld)

Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984

An Act to promote the good order, management, development and welfare of the fishing industry, to provide for the protection, conservation and management of the fisheries resources and to implement the provisions of the Torres Strait Treaty in the Torres Strait area and for related purposes

Part 1 Preliminary

1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984.

2 Commencement (1) Section 1 and this section shall commence on the day this Act is assented to for and on behalf of Her Majesty. (2) Except as prescribed in subsection (1), the provisions of this Act shall commence on the date on which the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 (Cwlth) comes into operation.

3 [Repealed]

4 Application of Act (1) The provisions of this Act apply, to the extent prescribed in this section, only in the following areas— (a) in connection with activities within the Protected Zone; (b) within an area adjacent to the Protected Zone in relation to which there is in force at any time a proclamation under section 15(1) or (2) of the Commonwealth Act in connection with activities specified in the proclamation. (2) The areas of application are in this Act collectively referred to as the Torres Strait area.

5Fisheries Act 1994 does not apply The Fisheries Act 1994 does not apply to the taking (as defined in that Act) of fish for purposes of a fishery within the Torres Strait area managed in accordance with Commonwealth law under an arrangement under Part 3.

6 Interpretation (1) In this Act— commercial fishing means fishing for commercial purposes, but does not include traditional fishing. Commonwealth Act means the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 (Cwlth). community fishing means commercial fishing carried on by— (a) a person who is, or 2 or more persons each of whom is— (i) both a traditional inhabitant and an Australian citizen; and (ii) not, in the course of that fishing, under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of another person who is not both an Australian citizen and a traditional inhabitant; or (b) a person or persons of the description prescribed by paragraph (a) and another person or other persons in the service of— (i) the first mentioned person or persons; or (ii) the State, the Commonwealth, or an authority of the State or the Commonwealth, to provide the first mentioned person or persons with training or advice in relation to fishing techniques. inspector means an inspector under the Fisheries Act 1994. Protected Zone means the area the boundaries of which are described in Annex 9 of the Torres Strait Treaty, and includes— (a) for anything done for the purposes of commercial fishing—any area that is— (i) adjacent to the first mentioned area; and (ii) to the north of the line described in Annex 5 to the Torres Strait Treaty; and (iii) under the laws of Papua New Guinea, declared to be an area that is outside but near the Protected Zone for the purposes of commercial fishing; and (b) for anything done for the purposes of traditional fishing—any other area that is— (i) adjacent to the first mentioned area; and (ii) to the north of the line described in Annex 5 to the Torres Strait Treaty; and (iii) under the laws of Papua New Guinea, declared to be an area that is in the vicinity of the Protected Zone for the purposes of traditional fishing. Torres Strait Treaty means the Treaty between Australia and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea concerning sovereignty and maritime boundaries in the area between the 2 countries, including the area known as the Torres Strait, and related matters that was signed at Sydney on 18 December 1978, being the treaty a copy of which is set out in the Schedule. traditional fishing has the same meaning as in the Torres Strait Treaty, but does not include fishing by a method, or with the use of equipment or a vessel, of a kind specified in a notice in force under section 3(2) of the Commonwealth Act. traditional inhabitants has, subject to subsection (2), the same meaning as in the Torres Strait Treaty. (2) For the purposes of this Act— (a) the reference in the definition traditional inhabitants in Article 1 of the Torres Strait Treaty to the adjacent coastal area of Australia shall be read as a reference to any areas adjacent to the Protected Zone and to the south of the line described in Annex 5 to the Torres Strait Treaty that is declared pursuant to section 3(3) of the Commonwealth Act to be part of the adjacent coastal area of Australia; and (b) the reference in that definition in that Article to the adjacent coastal area of Papua New Guinea shall be read as a reference to any area adjacent to the Protected Zone and to the north of the line description in Annex 5 to the Torres Strait Treaty that is declared pursuant to section 3(3) of the Commonwealth Act to be part of the adjacent coastal area of Papua New Guinea. (3) For the purposes of this Act, the Protected Zone coastal waters of Queensland are— (a) the parts of the territorial sea of Australia that are adjacent to Queensland and are— (i) in the Protected Zone; or (ii) in an area in respect of which a proclamation is in force under section 15(1) or (2) of the Commonwealth Act; other than any part referred to in subsection (4); and (b) any marine or tidal waters that are on the landward side of any part of the territorial sea of Australia referred to in paragraph (a) but are not within the limits of Queensland. (4) If at any time the breadth of the territorial sea of Australia is determined or declared to be greater than 3 nautical miles, the Protected Zone coastal waters of Queensland do not include, for the purposes of this Act, any part of the territorial sea of Australia that would not be within the limits of that territorial sea if that territorial sea had continued to be 3 nautical miles.