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« Sea Cucumber Fishery (East Coast)

Environmental Assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries July 2020

Agency application on ecological sustainability

About the application

At the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna And Flora (CITES) a proposal to include three species of sea cucumber or teatfish (including Holothuria whitmaei and H. fuscogilva) in Appendix II to CITES was adopted. The listing will come into effect on 28 August 2020. These species are found in Australian waters and are caught in Queensland Sea Cucumber Fishery (East Coast).

The current export approval (List of Exempt Native Specimens - LENS) for this fishery does not permit the export of CITES listed species, therefore the fishery must undergo an assessment to be approved as a wildlife trade operation (WTO).

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment received an application from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries on 20 July 2020.

The application has been prepared to address the Australian Government Guidelines for the ecologically sustainable management of fisheries - 2nd edition and to provide updates on the implementation of any conditions or recommendations made in the previous Australian Government assessment. The application will be used to assess the operation of the fishery for the purposes of Part 13 and Part 13A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

Consideration will be given to:

• declaring the Queensland Sea Cucumber Fishery (East Coast) as managed consistent with the Fisheries Act 1994 (Queensland) and Fisheries (General) Regulation 2019, Fisheries (Commercial Fisheries) Regulation 2019, Fisheries Declaration 2019 and Fisheries Quota Declaration 2019 (Queensland), as an approved wildlife trade operation under section 303FN of the EPBC Act, and
• including in the list of exempt native specimens, specimens harvested in the Queensland Sea Cucumber Fishery (East Coast) under the provisions of the Fisheries Act 1994 (Queensland) and Fisheries (General) Regulation 2019, Fisheries (Commercial Fisheries) Regulation 2019, Fisheries Declaration 2019 and Fisheries Quota Declaration 2019 (Queensland).

In accordance with the provisions of sections 303FR and 303DC of the EPBC Act, you are invited to comment on this proposal.