Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L01047:reg:11:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L01047
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 11 (pt 1/8)
Character Range: 29354–32367

11

         In 2016, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) produced a technical paper entitled Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded gillnets and trammel nets: methods to estimate ghost fishing mortality, and the status of regional monitoring and management (Gilman et al., 2016). The paper suggests preventive methods to avoid and minimise fishing gear becoming abandoned, lost or discarded, as well as ways to reduce its longevity at sea. Ghost fishing mortality is of particular concern for marine megafauna, particularly long-lived and slowly reproducing seabirds, sea turtles, marine mammals, sharks and their relatives and some bony fishes (Gilman et al., 2016; Wilcox et al., 2015a).

In the open ocean many species, particularly fish, associate with objects drifting on the surface, which provide shelter and may also protect juvenile fish from predators. This behaviour is advantageous to fishing operations, as fishing around floating objects is associated with more successful catches (Davies et al., 2014). However, the use internationally of drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs), which are often comprised of synthetic ropes and netting, is a further potential source of marine debris if the FAD is abandoned, lost or discarded. The Pew Environment Group estimated that the number of drifting FADs deployed in the world's oceans each year ranges from 47,000 to 105,000, demonstrating the scale of FADs use globally, as well as their potential contribution to marine debris if discarded, abandoned or lost. However, awareness of the impacts caused by uncontrolled FADs is increasing and their use in tuna fisheries in Indonesia and western and central Pacific fisheries has been reduced.
Under current MARPOL Annex V requirements a FAD is considered an illegal discharge if the Master or skipper of the vessel that released the device decided not to retrieve it (unless the loss was accidental and all reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent such loss; or the discharge was for the protection of the marine environment or for the safety of the ship or its crew). In Australian waters, Commonwealth legislation applicable to the management of these devices includes the Sea Installations Act 1987 and the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981.

In 2015, the Australian Senate Environment and Communications References Committee held an inquiry into regulation of the finfish aquaculture industry in Tasmania. The committee's report encourages continued exploration of new ways to decrease marine debris attributable to aquaculture. In particular, the committee suggested colour tagging of each company's ropes and nets to identify the source of marine debris to aid debris reduction efforts (Senate Environment and Communications References Committee, 2015).

New technologies such as shipboard gasification waste-to-energy systems and accessible and affordable waste reception facilities at ports are likely to play important roles in addressing