Draft amendment to TRL Management Plan open for public comment
The PZJA met on 27 August 2020 and agreed to release the draft Torres Strait Fisheries (Quotas for Tropical Rock Lobster (Kaiar)) Management Plan Amendment 2020 (the Plan Amendment) for public comment.
The Plan Amendment extends the timeframe for reviewing the allocation of quota units to the Traditional Inhabitant sector under Section 17 of the TRL Plan. Under the amendment, the review will have to commence within four years of the plan commencing, that is by 30 November 2022.
The amendment is necessary as the Covid-19 pandemic has redirected the focus of State and Commonwealth public services, limited opportunities for stakeholder engagement, and delayed the Torres Strait Regional Authority’s Fisheries Regional Ownership Framework project. The PZJA agreed in November 2019 to commence the allocation review following the completion of the FROF project, which was anticipated at that time to be by 30 June 2020.
The proposed review period aims to strike a reasonable balance between extending the timeframe for the allocation review to ensure it can be properly resourced and effectively conducted, and is keeping with the PZJA’s commitment to reviewing the allocation of quota in the Traditional Inhabitant sector.
TRL Fishery licence holders are encouraged to provide comment on the draft amendment.
Comments may be submitted by
- email: to fisheriesTI@afma.gov.au
- by post: to PO Box 376, Thursday Island QLD 4875
- by phone: 07 4069 1990
Comments close on 15 October 2020.