Interim management arrangements for the South-east marine region of Australia

The South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves were proclaimed by the Governor General on the 28th of June 2007 and will come into effect on the 3rd of September 2007. It is the responsibility of the Director of National Parks to ensure that, when they come into effect, the reserves are effectively managed. Management arrangements must enable activities in the reserves to continue in a manner that is consistent with the reserve and zone IUCN categories.

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), during the period between proclamation of the reserves and the implementation of a management plan, approval from the Director of National Parks is required to allow existing commercial activities and activities that involve the taking of native species (fishing), that are consistent with the IUCN categories of the zones of the reserves, to legally continue. This approval from the Director of National Parks is issued under section 359B of the EPBC Act. Approval can be given to both individuals and to classes of persons, and can be issued with or without conditions on the approved activity.

Accordingly, the Director has issued a number of different approvals for users of the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves. These approvals which will come into effect on 3 September 2007, are outlined below.