Exploratory and development permits

The objective of an exploratory permit is to identify opportunities for the commercial exploitation of aquatic resources. It is a mechanism for gathering preliminary data. This assists in determining whether commercial harvesting of a particular aquatic resource in a particular manner is sustainable and desirable.

Exploratory fishing permits are not transferable, to encourage the permit holders to actively explore the viability of the resource and avoid speculation in resource access.

Exploratory permits may be issued for a maximum period of up to 3 years.

The objective of a developmental fishery permit is to enable a rigorous assessment of the potential commercial exploitation of aquatic resources. It is a mechanism for gathering more substantial data for the proposed fishing activity, aiming to demonstrate that it is:

• economically viable
• socially acceptable
• ecologically sustainable.

The information collected by the permit holder, as a condition of the developmental permit, must be reliable and meaningful. It should be detailed enough to facilitate decisions about continuing the developmental activities.

In most cases, developmental activities will follow and expand activities undertaken in an exploratory phase. In some cases, an application may proceed immediately to a developmental phase without first going through an exploratory phase. This can happen when the activities have previously been undertaken under a Ministerial exemption.

Developmental fishing permits are transferable, to provide permit holders with additional flexibility. It is recognised that during the developmental phase, this flexibility can facilitate permit holders who may need to exit the fishery, while also providing them an opportunity to recoup some of the costs of their investment.

Developmental permits will be issued for up to 3 years.

Applicants may identify an opportunity to undertake a fishing activity to take aquatic resources in the waters of the State that does not form part of an existing fishery. This may relate to harvesting a species that is not currently fished commercially, or from an area where an existing fishery does not extend.

Alternately, the Minister (or their delegate) may call for expressions of interest to participate in a particular fishery.

The application process is designed to allow all applications to be assessed fairly, in accordance with the objects of the Act, as well as the precautionary principle and the principles of ESD.

All exploratory or developmental permit applications undergo the same following formal process. People wishing to engage in exploratory or developmental fishing activities must submit an application to PIRSA and pay the required application fee.

Applicants need not specify whether they are applying for an exploratory permit or a developmental permit. PIRSA will determine which permit the application best fits into as part of the preliminary assessment.

Applicants may wish to submit additional information to facilitate the assessment of their application. This can address objectives of the exploratory and developmental fisheries, the Act, and other factors for consideration. Such information should include:

• biological details about the relevant species or stock (e.g. independent stock assessment reports)
• proposed processing methods and facilities
• the existence of and access to markets
• the logistical process, from harvesting through to retail sale
• a business plan detailing proposed time, labour investment, and the financial planning and preparedness to undertake the proposed fishing operation.
• details of any participation in the exploratory phase of the relevant fishery.

Providing additional information allows applicants to demonstrate the ecological, economic and financial feasibility of the proposed activities, which will assist PIRSA to evaluate the application.

Preliminary assessment

Upon receipt, PIRSA will commence a preliminary assessment to determine whether the proposed activities:

• fit within the objects of the Act
• are exploratory or developmental in nature
• require the application to be formally assessed.

If the proposed activities have not involved an exploratory phase, they will most likely be exploratory. In some circumstances, an application may be considered developmental, even if exploratory activities have not been carried out. Consequently, a proposal may proceed directly from application to an assessment to undertake developmental activities.

The result of the preliminary assessment may be as follows:

1. The Minister (or their delegate) may formally refuse the application. This may occur where significant barriers to issuing a permit are evident at the outset, such as:
   • the proposal is not supported within the objects of the Act
   • the applicant seeks to undertake fishing activities about which there are immediate sustainability concerns, to the extent that further assessment is not required or is inappropriate
   • the proposal cannot be classed as exploratory or developmental fishing
   • the proposal lacks sufficient supporting information and requests for such information have not been met within the specified timeframe
   • the applicant does not meet the fit and proper person test.
2. The Minister (or their delegate) may determine the category (exploratory or developmental) into which the application fits, and then approve it to proceed to the next stage of assessment. Upon gaining this approval, PIRSA will commence any necessary public notification or consultation activities.
3. The Minister (or their delegate) may request further information from the applicant, if there is insufficient information to make one of the above decisions. If the applicant fails to provide further information, then the application may be rejected or progressed on the basis of the available information.

Where the Minister (or their delegate) has refused an application during the preliminary assessment, the applicant will be provided with written reasons in support of the decision.

The formal administrative decisions, as a consequence of the preliminary assessment process, are subject to the appeals provisions under sections 111 and 112 of the Act.

Public notification and consultation

All applications must undergo a period of public notification and stakeholder consultation prior to the formal assessment. This process gathers public and stakeholder comment on the proposed fishing activities.

In particular, comment will be sought on the impact of activities on aquatic resources. Comment will not be sought on the proposed business activities.

Under the provisions of the Native Title Act 1993, PIRSA must carry out a native title assessment before issuing a permit. Consequently, PIRSA may be required to provide the relevant native title parties with an opportunity to comment on permit applications.

Public notices will be developed by PIRSA in consultation with the applicant. These must contain sufficient information about the proposal to facilitate:

• informed responses
• comments from interested third parties.

During the public notification period, members of the public may submit written comments to PIRSA in relation to the application. PIRSA may distribute copies of the application or supporting material upon request; however, details of a commercial-in-confidence nature will not be released.

At the conclusion of the public notification period, PIRSA will consider and review all submissions. If any of the submissions raise issues that are not dealt with sufficiently in the application or supporting documentation, then the further information may be requested.

Application assessment

At the conclusion of the public notification and stakeholder consultation period, applications will be formally assessed by PIRSA. This is done in accordance with the objectives of the Act, including the principles of ESD, and the precautionary principle.

PIRSA may also take into account relevant ecological, scientific, social, and economic information, or advice from other government agencies. PIRSA will consider the following factors:

• short and long-term sustainability of the resource
• impacts of the proposed activity on marine habitats and ecosystems
• the nature and scale of the proposal
• other existing uses or restrictions of the relevant area
• short and long-term community benefit
• submissions from the consultation process (if required)
• prospects for the proposal to be economically and commercially viable
• management costs
• mandatory referrals for specially protected areas, such as marine parks
• native title considerations
• any other relevant criteria.

Where an application is considered for a developmental fishing permit, following the conclusion of exploratory fishing activities, the review of the exploratory phase may also be taken into account.

Decision

Following the formal assessment, the Minister (or their delegate) will make a decision in respect of the application and notify the applicant of the outcome.

If successful, an applicant may be issued with an exploratory or developmental fishing permit, which will contain set conditions.

Unsuccessful applicants will receive written notification and reasons supporting the decision. If an applicant is dissatisfied with the decision, an appeal may be brought under sections 111 and 112 of the Act.

Permit holders may commence the proposed exploratory or developmental fishing activities upon receipt of their permit and may continue until the permit expires. Fishing activities will be subject to terms and conditions and applicants must fulfil monitoring and reporting requirements.

At the conclusion of an exploratory or developmental phase, PIRSA will undertake a review of the activities. Following this review, the Minister (or their delegate) may:

• extend the exploratory or developmental phase
• bring activities to an end
• decide that the activities are suitable to continue under the next management stage.

Anyone wishing to participate in a developmental phase, following an exploratory phase, must submit an application to PIRSA. Participants in the exploratory phase will have priority to continue their participation, should they choose to do so.

Ongoing rights to carry out exploratory or developmental fishing activities are not guaranteed.

Issue of permits

Exploratory and developmental fishing permits may be issued for up to 3 years, at the discretion of the Minister (or their delegate).

Once a permit has been issued for an exploratory or developmental fishery, any subsequent permits issued for those activities may have the same expiry date as the original permit. This would provide a fixed end date for exploratory or developmental fishing activities, at which time PIRSA would undertake a final review and evaluation of those activities.

The activities cannot progress to the next stage (undertaking the transition to the developmental phase, or to the allocation stage) prior to the review and evaluation report being completed. This report may be taken into consideration where a participant in an exploratory fishery applies for a developmental fishing permit in that fishery.

Permit holders must:

• carry out activities in accordance with the conditions of the permit
• carry the permit while undertaking such activities.

The Minister (or their delegate) may cancel a permit at any time if the conditions of the permit are breached, or if the permit holder commits any other offence under the Act. Exploratory or developmental fishing permits may also be re-issued at the discretion of the Minister (or their delegate).

Once an exploratory or developmental fishing permit has been issued, the applicant is obliged to undertake the proposed activity. A record of all exploratory or developmental fishing permits issued will be entered on a public register at the time of a permit being issued, in accordance with section 116 of the Act.

Recognition of existing access rights

These guidelines make a distinction between those who:

• have been involved in exploratory or developmental activities from their commencement (pioneers)
• have subsequently become participants through the fishery.

This recognition is in light of the potential costs involved in establishing an exploratory or developmental fishery. Subsequent entrants to a developmental fishery will be allowed in 2 circumstances, either:

• upon transfer of a permit
• if an assessment is made at the developmental or allocation stages, that further permits should be made available.

Initial participants must be given the best possible opportunity to recoup their investment if an exploratory or developmental fishery progresses to be a managed commercial fishery. While these pioneers are not guaranteed ‘rights’ to future access in an exploratory or developmental fishery, they will be given priority for participation in the next phase(s) of the fishery, should they wish to continue.

To be considered a pioneer, PIRSA must be satisfied that the permit holder actively fished the permit and complied with the conditions – simply holding a permit is not sufficient.

Native title claimants who have entered Indigenous Land Use Agreements will also be considered in the process of allocating exploratory, developmental, and ongoing fishing rights.

Review and evaluation

At the end of the developmental or exploratory period, PIRSA will undertake a review and evaluation of the fishing activities. The review:

• ensures that fisheries resources remain sustainable
• assists fishery managers and participants to determine whether the activities are suitable to progress to the next stage.

Before deciding on the allocation of subsequent fishing activities, the Minister (or their delegate) may refer the assessment of developmental activities to a relevant advisory committee. They will assess whether it is appropriate for the fishing activities to be continued under formal management arrangements.

Following the review of the fishing activities, one of the following may occur:

• all exploratory or developmental fishing activities will cease
• the duration of the exploratory or developmental phase will be extended to allow for further information gathering and assessment of the activities
• the exploratory or developmental phase will be assessed as suitable to progress to the next phase.

The Minister (or their delegate) will consider whether it is appropriate for developmental fishing activities to be:

• continued as a new managed fishery
• formally recognised within the Miscellaneous Fishery or another existing fishery.

This process includes:

• the number of authorities to be issued
• the allocation to each authority, including quota, zones and other appropriate management arrangements
• the allocation of resources between existing user groups.

Management arrangements may involve changes to the relevant fisheries regulations to allow an activity to continue. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

In the process of allocating fishing authorities to facilitate developmental activities on an ongoing basis, pioneers will be given priority over subsequent participants. Native title claimants who have entered an Indigenous Land Use Agreement will be considered in this process.

If it is determined that there are more participants than is deemed sustainable, the Minister (or their delegate) will consider how ongoing access rights should be allocated.

The Fisheries Management Act 2007 requires fisheries to be managed in a cost-effective manner, with targets set for the recovery of management costs. Consequently, there are a number of costs to applicants and permit holders associated with establishing or participating in exploratory or developmental fisheries.

A non-refundable fee is payable at the time of submitting an application for either permit. This fee contributes to the cost of assessing the application, preparing the management regime, stakeholder consultation, and gathering additional information.

An exploratory permit fee is payable upon issue of an exploratory fishing permit and annually thereafter. This fee relates to the costs of managing the activities under the permit.

Developmental permits are also subject to an annual permit fee. This fee will be determined under the Government’s cost recovery policy for commercial fisheries on a case-by-case basis.

When determining the applicable management and research fees, consideration will be given to:

• the cost of managing the developmental fishery
• the capacity of the applicant to contribute to the management costs on the basis of the proposed activities.

These fees are outlined in the Fisheries Management (Fees) Regulations 2007.

Permit conditions are necessary to ensure that exploratory and developmental activities are carried out in an appropriate way and in accordance with the objects of the Act.

All permits will specify the conditions with which permit holders must comply. These may include, but are not included to, the following:

• species restrictions
• gear restrictions
• vessel size restrictions
• geographical and temporal restrictions
• reporting requirements to be met
• research and monitoring requirements to be met
• other monitoring to be undertaken (e.g. by an observer, or through the vessel monitoring system).

In addition to the conditions, permit holders are required to conduct their operations in accordance with the Act.

All exploratory and developmental fishing permits will be carefully monitored to make sure that activities are undertaken responsibly. This involves mandatory reporting, which will be included in permit conditions.

Reporting and monitoring requirements will be developed in consultation with the applicant, and may vary according to the proposed activities, the species or gear involved, and the areas in which the activities will take place.

Examples of the permit holder's reporting requirements may include:

• completing and submitting catch and effort logbooks
• collecting and submitting information on interactions with threatened, endangered, and protected species.

Reported information will be used to assess the sustainability of activities undertaken in exploratory or developmental fisheries. This may also be used to review and evaluate the fishery at the conclusion of the exploratory or developmental fishing period.

Aggregated data from information gathered, including summary catch and by-catch information, will be made available, subject to the confidentiality provisions of section 124 of the Act.

On a case-by-case basis, PIRSA will determine whether, and how often, observers will be used to monitor exploratory or developmental fishing activities. In exercising this discretion, the Minister (or their delegate) will take into account:

• the nature of the activities being undertaken
• specific environmental issues
• the proposed area of operation
• any other relevant information.

Vessels used for exploratory or developmental fishing activities must be registered for commercial use with the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.