The Fisheries Management Regulations have been amended to introduce new rules regarding navigation in closured areas. Closed areas are regulated fishery closures. We should treat voluntary cosures in the same way. This rule DOES NOT apply to MPA's they are covered by another Act.
Under the new regulations, fishing vessels must:
1. Not enter areas that are closed for less than 24 hours (such as day closures). There are no “day” closures in the SESSF so this does not affect the CTS.
2. If the closure is greater than 24 hours (permanent and temporal fishery closures) the vessel must be travelling at 5 knots or greater. This allows AFMA to confirm that the vessel was not fishing.
The deemed speed of a boat is calculated by dividing the straight line distance between two consecutive VMS points, and dividing that distance by the time taken by the boat to travel between the two points. Vessels are therefore advised to take the most direct route when travelling through a closure.
AFMA sent a letter (11th March) stated that a vessel must stay in the closure for 30 minutes so that the speed can be calculated. Probably the best way to deal with this complication is not to skim the edges of closures and if the vessel will be in the closure for less than 30 minutes to go around the closure.
If the master of a boat is unable to comply with any of the navigation requirements due to an unforseen emergency (e.g. crew safety, breakdowns), or circumstances beyond the control of the master of the boat, then the master can request AFMA approval for the boat to be navigated in the closure. Call the AFMA Duty Officer ( 0419 205 329 0419 205 329 ) to do this. If there is no answer leave a message and try the following VMS Reporting contacts: Landline 02-62255369 02-62255369 , Fax 02-62255440 and e-mail VMSReporting@afma.gov.au
Further details about the new regulations can be found on AFMA's website.
