Purpose:
This Act regulates fisheries, fishing, and oyster farming in New South Wales, and provides for related matters including the repeal and amendment of certain other Acts.
Objectives:
- To establish a framework for the regulation of commercial fishing and oyster farming activities.
- To provide for data collection and reporting on fishing and oyster farming operations for regulatory purposes.
- To facilitate the management and protection of specific fish species, such as salmon and trout, through acclimatisation districts and societies.
- To define enforcement powers and penalties for non-compliance within the fishing and oyster farming sectors.
Key Provisions:
- Section 4 (Definitions): Defines key terms relevant to the Act, including “commercial fisher,” “Director General,” “District,” “Fish,” “Inspector,” “Oyster,” and “Sell.”
- Section 42 (Returns): Empowers the Minister to require persons engaged in specified fishing and oyster farming operations to keep records and furnish returns regarding catch, sales, output, gear used, or business activities.
- Section 43 (Acclimatisation districts): Authorises the Governor to declare and define specific areas as “acclimatisation districts” for the purpose of liberating, placing, or transplanting trout or salmon.
- Section 44 (Registration of acclimatisation societies): Establishes the process for registering “acclimatisation societies” focused on the distribution or protection of salmon or trout, granting registered societies corporate status.
- Section 47 (Accounts): Requires registered acclimatisation societies to provide annual audited financial statements to the Minister.
- Section 48 (Cancellation of registration): Outlines the conditions and procedures under which the registration of an acclimatisation society may be cancelled, including failure to comply with reporting requirements.
- Section 119A (Application of enforcement provisions of Fisheries Management Act 1994): Stipulates that Part 9 (Enforcement) of the Fisheries Management Act 1994 applies for the purposes of this Act and its regulations.
- Section 119C (Offences by corporations): Specifies that directors or persons concerned in the management of a corporation are liable for corporate contraventions if they knowingly authorised or permitted the contravention.
- Section 120 (Regulations): Grants the Governor the power to make regulations on a wide range of matters, including prescribing forms, fees, methods for conveying fish or oysters, and regulating the icing, packing, handling, storage, processing, and inspection of fish for sale.
Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:
For persons engaged in fishing and oyster farming operations (Section 42):
- Record-keeping: Organisations are required to keep records as prescribed by a notice published in the Gazette by the Minister.
- Reporting of Returns: Organisations must furnish returns in the prescribed form and at specified periods, covering details such as catch, sales, output, gear used, or business activities, as required by a Gazette notice. This includes nil returns if specified. Returns may also require separate particulars regarding the weight, quantity, value, or price of specified fish varieties/species, and the locality where fish were taken.
- Retention of Returns: A copy of each furnished return must be kept for a period of one year after it has been furnished.
- Availability for Inspection: The retained copy of the return must be made available for inspection by an inspector on demand.
- Inspection of Records: Persons authorised in writing by the Director or an inspector have the right to enter premises (e.g., market, shop, cool store, cannery, factory) where specified operations are carried on, to inspect any books of account, records, or other documents related to that operation for the purpose of checking information in a return.
- Production of Documents on Notice: Upon receiving written notice from the Director, organisations must produce all books of account, records, and other documents in their possession or control related to the specified operations for inspection by a person specified in the notice.
For registered acclimatisation societies (Section 47):
- Annual Financial Reporting: A full statement of accounts, detailing all receipts and expenditure of the society up to the thirtieth day of April next preceding, must be furnished to the Minister annually.
- Audited Balance-Sheet: The statement of accounts must be accompanied by a duly audited balance-sheet.
- Timeframe: These financial documents must be furnished on or before the thirty-first day of May in each year.
- Consequences of Default: Failure to forward the statement and balance-sheet for a period of 3 months (or a longer period determined by the Minister) will result in the society losing its entitlement to receive moneys under this Act during the period of default. Continued non-compliance may also lead to the cancellation of the society’s registration.
General compliance via Regulations (Section 120):
- Adherence to Prescribed Forms and Fees: Organisations may be required to use prescribed forms and pay specified fees or deposits for any lease, licence, permit, consent, certificate of exemption, or other authority or service obtained under this Act.
- Compliance with Handling and Conveyance Regulations: Organisations must comply with regulations concerning the method and means of consigning or conveying fish or oysters for sale, including regulations on icing, packing, handling, and storage of fish for sale, and any prohibitions on repacking fish intended for sale.
- Use of Standard Containers: Organisations may be required to use standard containers for fish intended for sale.
- Vehicle Regulations: Vehicles used for carrying fish for sale must comply with regulations, which may include carrying lists containing prescribed particulars relating to the fish transported.
- Processing and Storage Conditions: Organisations involved in canning, smoking, freezing, preserving, processing, or storing fish must comply with any regulations, restrictions, or conditions imposed on these activities.
- Premises Inspection: Premises where fish are processed or stored are subject to inspection as provided for by regulations.
Metadata Keywords:
Fisheries, Oyster Farming, New South Wales, Legislation, Compliance, Reporting, Trout, Salmon, Acclimatisation Societies, Fish Processing
Publication Information:
Current version for 15 July 2001
Agricultural Industry Alignment:
Fisheries, Oyster
Date Added to database:
This document was parsed and added to the database on 25-07-2025
URL:
https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/pdf/inforce/2001-07-15/act-1935-058 →