General Policies

 

Aquaculture (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2010

The current Aquaculture Act 2001 (the Act) was proclaimed in 2001 to promote the management and development of marine and inland aquaculture and for other purposes in South Australia.

The Act is unique in Australia in that it is the only Act that deals specifically with aquaculture management.  Other aquaculture legislation is assimilated into recreational and commercial fisheries management. 

The demand for seafood is continuing to grow significantly, both domestically and internationally, with countries like China increasing in economic wealth and prosperity and demanding significant quantities of high quality seafood.  This is consistent with findings of a CSIRO report titled ‘Modelling Australia’s Fisheries to 2050’, which estimates aquaculture production will double in tonnage by 2020, and then double again by 2050.  Wild catch fisheries production is not expected to meet the increased demand for seafood.  Aquaculture is a viable alternative to sustainable seafood production.

The Aquaculture (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2010 proposes amendments to the Act that will allow for the adoption of contemporary management practices and standards in aquaculture management, compliance and administration in South Australia to facilitate sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry sector.

The proposed amendments in the draft Bill are to the Act only.  There will be a separate process run for amendments to the Aquaculture Regulations 2005 once the Act amendment process has been finalised.  This will not be until mid 2011 when we expect the revised Act will have been implemented.

The documents below provide details of all proposed changes to the Act together with an explanatory booklet.  A template document for submissions has also been provided that may help focus any comments you may wish to make on the Aquaculture (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2010.

Aquaculture (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2010

Consultation Booklet - Guide to changes

Comment Submission Form

All submissions must be received by 18 March 2011

 

Aquaculture Cost Recovery Policy (PDF 97.4 KB)

This policy came into operation on 13th February 2003, and has been endorsed by the Environment, Resources and Development Committee of Parliament in accordance with the provisions of the Aquaculture Act 2001. The policy outlines a cost recovery framework which provides for the equitable sharing of costs associated with the resource management and regulation of the aquaculture industry in South Australia.

Policy Report (PDF 108.7 KB) - accompanies the Aquaculture Cost Recovery Policy.

Aquaculture (Standard Lease Conditions) Policy 2005 (links to the SA Legislation website)

This policy came into operation on 4 December 2008. The Aquaculture (Standard Lease Conditions) Policy has been developed to specify conditions that apply to all aquaculture leases per clause 11(2)(f) of the Aquaculture Act 2001.

The policy assists in maintaining relevant lease conditions on existing leases and provides for inserting new conditions prior to lease renewal where deemed appropriate and in consultation with the lease holder.

Aquaculture (Revocation) Policy 2010 (links to the SA Legislation website)

This policy came into operation on 1 July 2010. The Aquaculture (Revocation) Policy 2010 has been developed to revoke nine administrative policies which were developed in 2003 and 2004 prior to the development of the Aquaculture Regulations 2005 and the Livestock (Restrictions on Entry of Aquaculture Stock) Notice 2008.

Policies revoked by the policy are: Aquaculture Aquatic Organism Translocation Policy 2005; Aquaculture Environmental Management Framework Policy 2004; Aquaculture Leasing and Licensing Policy 2004; Aquaculture Resource Management Framework and Ecologically sustainable Development Policy 2004; Aquaculture Tenure Allocation Policy 2004; Aquatic Animal Disease Emergency Response Manual 2004; Aquatic Animal Health Policy 2004; Mandatory Provisions (General) Policy 2004; and South Australian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program Policy 2004.

Many of the provisions contained in the revoked policies have since been incorporated into the Aquaculture Regulations 2005 and the Livestock (Restrictions on Entry of Aquaculture Stock) Notice 2008. Section 11 of the Aquaculture Act 2001 sets out the nature and content of aquaculture policies and the types of policies that can be developed; policies describing administrative procedures are not considered to be contemplated by this section of the Aquaculture Act 2001.

The policy assists in the provision of certainty for industry stakeholders and improved community confidence by revoking policies which are out of date and inconsistent with current legislative and administrative arrangements.

The attached table outlines the replacement arrangements for these policies.