Export Approval (EPBC Act)

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) requires the Commonwealth Government to assess the environmental performance of fisheries and promote ecologically sustainable fisheries management.

The Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) is responsible for the assessment of state export fisheries in accordance with the EPBC Act.

An independent assessment of all export managed fisheries is required to ensure that, over time, fisheries are managed in an ecologically sustainable way.

The evaluation of the environmental performance of export fisheries, includes:

  • the strategic assessment of fisheries under Part 10 of the EPBC Act;
  • assessments relating to impacts on protected marine species under Part 13; and A
  • assessments for the purpose of export approval under Part 13A.

Information on fisheries assessments can be viewed on the DAWE website and in the Guidelines for the ecologically sustainable management of fisheries.