Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

But, as a consequence, I am more than willing to help him out with a clear and concise reference to this legislation. In so doing, I refer of course to the explanatory memorandum. The Fisheries Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fishing Offences) Bill 2006 would amend the Fisheries Management Act 1991 and the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 to provide for custodial penalties for foreign fishing offences in those parts of Australia’s territorial sea that are within the Australian fishing zone, within the meaning of the FMA, or within any area of Australian jurisdiction, within the meaning of the TSFA. Those, of course, are the abbreviations for those acts I have already mentioned.

In general, the waters that would therefore become subject to the proposed custodial penalties are the waters from three to 12 nautical miles offshore from the Australian mainland or from most islands, including those in the Torres Strait. For the external territories, all waters out to 12 nautical miles will be subject to the proposed custodial penalties. The waters within three nautical miles of the coast or which are internal waters, such as bays, rivers and sounds, are subject to the fisheries jurisdiction of a state or the Northern Territory, which have the power to impose custodial penalties for foreign fishing offences in these waters and in most instances have done so.

Illegal foreign fishing vessel incursions threaten Australia’s sovereign interests, posing threats such as serious quarantine risks, illegal immigration, importation of prohibited goods, depletion of fish stocks, degradation of marine protected areas and targeting of endangered species. (Quorum formed)

Let me continue with the information that the shadow minister would normally provide to the House. The added deterrents of custodial penalties for foreign fishing offences would help to reduce these threats. The bill, if enacted, would further strengthen the measures against illegal foreign fishing announced by the government in the 2006 budget. Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, the EEZ, which extends generally from 12 to 200 nautical miles offshore, has been excluded from the ambit of the new penalties in order to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Australia is a party. Article 73 of the convention requires that coastal state penalties for violations of fishery laws and regulations in the EEZ may not include imprisonment in the absence of agreements to the contrary by the states concerned; however, this prohibition does not apply in the territorial sea.

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