Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L01047:reg:9:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L01047
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 9 (pt 2/3)
Character Range: 25156–28262

marinas, at anchorage areas, at moorings and to a lesser extent along shipping lanes (Kroon et al., 2015). This situation is likely to be reflected in such facilities around the Australian coastline.
Coastal clean-ups in Australia show that recreational fishing appears to provide a source of very high-impact material (C. Wilcox, pers. comm., 2016). Seabirds may be particularly vulnerable to injury from recreational fishing material given their scavenging and fishing activities in areas that are also used by humans (Carapetis et al., 2010). Globally, an estimated 640 000 tonnes of commercial fishing gear is lost in the oceans each year (UNEP, 2016). This gear (referred to as ghost gear or ghost nets) is predominantly comprised of plastic material and, whether accidently or deliberately discarded, threatens marine wildlife through indiscriminate entanglement

         10  /  Threat Abatement Plan

           A large ghost net in Australian waters. Image: © GhostNets Australia

           Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is fishing that does not comply with national, regional or global fisheries conservation and management obligations. Such fishing contributes to the impact of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear on marine wildlife. Australia has been actively involved in working to strengthen existing regional and international fisheries management and conservation arrangements. Australia also takes a role in pursuing the development and adoption of new measures (where appropriate) to combat IUU fishing and to fully implement key international instruments to ensure that vessels do not act in contravention of their international obligations.
           Australia is party to Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which regulates garbage pollution from ships (including fishing vessels). The discharge of plastic into the sea has been prohibited under MARPOL Annex V since 1988; the discharge of all types of garbage into the sea, with very limited exceptions (not related to plastics), has been prohibited since 2013. MARPOL also obliges parties to ensure that adequate waste reception facilities that fully meet the needs of ships normally using them are available in all ports and terminals. Adequate waste reception facilities assist and encourage crews to dispose of plastic wastes appropriately. The potential biosecurity risks posed by ships' waste delivered to port waste reception facilities is an important consideration.
           Effective implementation of MARPOL Annex V can be difficult. Fishing, for example, represents a significant challenge. Compliance and enforcement activities for this industry sector are difficult, given that most the world's fishing vessels are less than 100 tonnes gross tonnage and are therefore not required under MARPOL to maintain a garbage management plan or garbage record book on board. Fisheries observer data for 2003–2015 from purse seine and longline vessels operating in the western and central Pacific Ocean noted more than