The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) congratulates Commonwealth operators for reconciling their quota within the required 28 day period.
28-day quota reconciliation arrangements were introduced in 2013 in response to industry's request for increased flexibility.
Continuous reconciliation spreads the demand for quota across the fishing year, and therefore reduces the incidences of market "rushes". This helps to ensure the quota market operates as efficiently as possible, meaning operators are able to readily respond to changes in catches thereby allowing the industry to more fully utilise the total allowable catch.
During the 2018/2019 financial year there have only been five reported instances where quota has not been reconciled within the 28 day period. This is significantly down from the previous two years with a reported 30 instances in 2016/2017 and 29 instances in 2017/2018.
Even more encouraging, over the last six months no operator has failed to reconcile their quota.
Reminder
All concession holders are required to balance their over-catches (per species) within 28 days of landing the catch.
Operators are responsible for making sure they have enough quota, and that they keep track of their catch against their quota holdings throughout a fishing season.
If you do no reconcile your quota on time, the consequences may include being:
- stopped from fishing
- directed to return to port or to remain in port
- suspended
- prosecuted
Keep up the outstanding work to make sure your fishing concessions are not affected and you won't be subject to compliance action.
