The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) is the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

agency responsible for the management and sustainable use of

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

resources including combating

illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...

activities in the Australian Fishing Zone that covers 8,148,250 square kilometres, the third largest in the world, and in most of Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coastline of Australia and its external territories, except where a maritime

delimitation Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities.

agreement exists with a state.The Australian Fishing Zone
/ref>Geoscience Australia. 2005
Maritime Boundary DefinitionsComlaw.gov.au
/ref> AFMA is an agency of the Australian

Department of Agriculture and Water Resources The Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources was a government department that existed between 2015 and 2019, which was responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs that contribute to strengthening ...

. The Authority does not have a legal identity separate from the Commonwealth.

History

The Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ) was first declared in 1979, and covers Australian waters, generally from 3 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles from the Australian coast. To the 3 nautical miles boundary are state waters and fisheries are managed by the respective states. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority was established in February 1992 and its operations are governed by the Australian ''Fisheries Administration Act 1991'' (Cth) and ''Fisheries Management Act 1991'' (Cth). Australia declared an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on 1 August 1994, which extends to 200 nautical miles from its coastline. To the 12 nautical miles boundary is Australia’s

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

Current responsibilities

AFMA manage
Commonwealth fisheries
that are typically within the Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ), on the high seas, and, in some cases, by agreement with other

Australian States The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing p ...

to the ''low water mark''. The agency is also responsible for combating

in Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone including the waters between Australia and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

and the Australian territories of Ashmore and Cartier Islands and

Heard Island and McDonald Islands The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size ...

. This activity is conducted with the assistance of the

Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. Thr ...

and the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

Agency structure

AFMA operates under the direction of a Commission and a Chief Executive Officer, who is also a Commissioner. The Commission is responsible for domestic fisheries management while the Chief Executive Officer is responsible for foreign fisheries compliance, under direction from the

All Commissioners, apart from the CEO, are appointed on a remunerated, part-time basis. The current Chair of the Commission is Helen Kroger. Helen has held leadership positions in the private, public and not for profit sectors for the last 20 years. She is a former Liberal Senator for Victoria, Government Whip and active former member of numerous key Senate and Joint Committees. She has extensive board experience and advises corporations on regulatory and compliance, governance, communications and stakeholder management issues.

Enforcement Officers

AFMA employs officers under the ''Fisheries Management Act'' to undertake enforcement duties, these officers work both independently and closely with

Maritime Border Command The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state acto ...

, the Royal Australian Navy, and Australian Border Force officers to enforce fisheries laws. AFMA officers are empowered to make arrests for fisheries offenses and certain other commonwealth laws, may conduct searches in certain circumstances, and are authorised to carry

body armour Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...

, a

telescopic baton A baton (also known as a truncheon or nightstick) is a roughly cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic, or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security guards ...

handcuffs Handcuffs are Physical restraint, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a Link chain, chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm whi ...

, and other defensive equipment. AFMA officers may conduct investigations and can apply for and execute warrants in relation to fisheries laws.

References

{{Authority control Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Fishing in Australia

History

Current responsibilities

Agency structure

Enforcement Officers

See also

References