❓ Hon. Colin de Grussa questions the Minister for Fisheries regarding the allocation of West Coast Demersal Scalefish charter tag quotas, specifically the data used, the reliance on historical catch data, and potential discrimination against smaller operators. The Minister's response cites confidentiality and industry consultation as justification.
AnsweredQoN 1101Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
WEST COAST DEMERSAL
SCALEFISH — STATEMENT OF DETERMINATION
1101. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Fisheries:
I refer to the West coast
demersal finfish charter tag quota: statement of determination for 2023–24 .
(1) Can the
minister please table the catch data that was used to determine the allocation
of quota tags to fishing tour operator licence holders in the west coast zone
in the statement of determination?
(2) Can the
minister please explain why the historical catch of 15 demersal species was
used as the only determining factor in the statement of determination?
(3) Does the
minister accept that use of the catch data for all FTOL holders to determine
the tag allocation for the four quota species—without regard to the
licensed passenger capacity of each FTOL operator, whether under 10 passengers or over 10 passengers, and for the 15
demersal species nominated instead of the four quota species sought to
be protected—adversely discriminates against those local FTOL holders
licensed to carry under 10 passengers in favour of allocation of the tags to
those who have previously caught the most and seemingly have had the biggest
impact on demersal fish stocks generally?
SCALEFISH — STATEMENT OF DETERMINATION
1101. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Fisheries:
I refer to the West coast
demersal finfish charter tag quota: statement of determination for 2023–24 .
(1) Can the
minister please table the catch data that was used to determine the allocation
of quota tags to fishing tour operator licence holders in the west coast zone
in the statement of determination?
(2) Can the
minister please explain why the historical catch of 15 demersal species was
used as the only determining factor in the statement of determination?
(3) Does the
minister accept that use of the catch data for all FTOL holders to determine
the tag allocation for the four quota species—without regard to the
licensed passenger capacity of each FTOL operator, whether under 10 passengers or over 10 passengers, and for the 15
demersal species nominated instead of the four quota species sought to
be protected—adversely discriminates against those local FTOL holders
licensed to carry under 10 passengers in favour of allocation of the tags to
those who have previously caught the most and seemingly have had the biggest
impact on demersal fish stocks generally?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. I provide the following answer on behalf of the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Fisheries.
(1) Data reported
in statutory returns by fishing tour operator licence holders is confidential
information under section 250 of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 and
cannot be tabled.
(2)–(3) Following
consultation with the charter sector, the implementation of a tag system was
adopted as the preferred approach to manage
the charter catch of demersal scalefish in the west coast region. The
allocation of tags considered catch history based on the top 15 species
in the west coast bioregion. This accounts for over 90 per cent of the total
catch of demersal scalefish by the charter sector. The allocation of tags based
on catch history was the most equitable way to distribute tags and was
supported by industry through the consultation process.
some notice of the question. I provide the following answer on behalf of the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Fisheries.
(1) Data reported
in statutory returns by fishing tour operator licence holders is confidential
information under section 250 of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 and
cannot be tabled.
(2)–(3) Following
consultation with the charter sector, the implementation of a tag system was
adopted as the preferred approach to manage
the charter catch of demersal scalefish in the west coast region. The
allocation of tags considered catch history based on the top 15 species
in the west coast bioregion. This accounts for over 90 per cent of the total
catch of demersal scalefish by the charter sector. The allocation of tags based
on catch history was the most equitable way to distribute tags and was
supported by industry through the consultation process.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.