Agreement On Fisheries Between The Government Of Australia And The Government Of The People's Republic Of China
Source: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1988/39.html, downloaded 20061227
THE GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA,
FOR THE PURPOSE of promoting co-operation in the field of fisheries and in this way further to develop friendly relations between Australia and the People's Republic of China,
HAVE AGREED as follows:
Article I
In this Agreement:
(1) " fishing vessel of the People's Republic of China" means a vessel registered in the People's Republic of China and operated for commercial purposes by and for nationals or corporations of the People's Republic of China and used or equipped to be used for fishing, performing any activity relating to fishing , including transportation or processing, or supporting one or more vessels at sea in the performance of any such activity;
(2) "Australian fishing zone" means the zone extending 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Australia is measured and within which the Australian Government exercises, in accordance with international law, sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the living resources; and
(3) "authorised area" means that part of the Australian fishing zone described in Annex 1 to this Agreement.
Article II
Subject to payment to the Government of Australia of a fee for all the fishing vessels of the People's Republic of China to be licensed of 336,000 Australian dollars, the Government of Australia shall, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, issue licences for 12 fishing vessels and two carrier vessels (hereinafter referred to as the "licensed vessels") for the period of validity of this Agreement. The procedure for applying for licences is described in Annex 2 to this Agreement.
Article III
The Government of Australia shall, by the licences issued for the licensed vessels, permit those vessels to take all species of demersal fin- fish, squid and elasmobranchs and pelagic species of fin-fish taken incidentally by means of the pair trawl method of fishing and to process and carry the catch as taken. Catches of crustaceans including carid prawns and scampi, shall not be permitted.
Article IV
The Government of Australia shall permit the licensed vessels to take a quantity of fish which shall not exceed 4,800 tonnes whole weight, 3,000 tonnes from the North West Shelf and 1,800 tonnes from the Timor Sea.
Article V
The Government of Australia, subject to the relevant laws and regulations of Australia, shall permit the licensed vessels to enter the ports of Darwin, Fremantle, Port Hedland and Broome. The Government of Australia may, by written notice through diplomatic channels, permit licensed vessels to enter additional ports in Australia.
Article VI
The Government of the People's Republic of China shall take the necessary measures to ensure:
(1) that fishing vessels of the People's Republic of China are not used for fishing within the Australian fishing zone, and do not enter an Australian port, unless licensed under this Agreement or otherwise permitted by Australian law;
(2) that fishing vessels of the People's Republic of China comply with Australian laws applicable to foreign fishing vessels in the Australian fishing zone, the terms and conditions of Australian licences and the provisions of this Agreement; and
(3) that persons on board licensed vessels within the Australian fishing zone allow and assist boarding and comply with the instructions of Australian officials duly authorised under Australian law for the purposes of inspection, reporting of positions and enforcement. The normal procedures for inspections, reporting of position and enforcement are described in Annex 3.
Article VII
The authorised representative or agent of the licensed vessels of the People's Republic of China may offer for sale to Australian commercial interests such quantity of fish of such species and under such conditions as may be determined from time to time by the Australian Department of Primary Industries and Energy.
Article VIII
The Government of the People's Republic of China shall co-operate with the Government of Australia in the conduct of marine scientific research for the purposes of the effective conservation and optimum utilisation of the marine living resources within the Australian fishing zone.
Article IX
In the event of seizure or arrest by appropriate Australian authorities of fishing vessels of the People's Republic of China or their crews, the Government of Australia shall promptly inform the Government of the People's Republic of China of the action taken through diplomatic channels .
Article X
Any such fishing vessels or crews which are seized or arrested shall, on compliance with the requirements of Australian laws relating to bond or other security be promptly released.
Article XI
The Government of the People's Republic of China shall make available to the Government of Australia such statistical and biological information as may be requested by the Government of Australia for the purposes of managing and conserving the marine living resources within the Australian fishing zone.
Article XII
The Government of the People's Republic of China shall take all necessary measures to facilitate prompt and adequate settlement of any claim for loss or damage incurred by the Government of Australia or Australian citizens for which fishing vessels of the People's Republic of China are responsible while within the Australian fishing zone for the purpose of fishing operations.
Article XIII
If a dispute arises between the Government of Australia and the Government of the People's Republic of China as to the interpretation or application of any of the provisions of the Agreement, the two Governments shall settle it by mutual consultation. Such consultation shall begin within sixty days after one Government receives a written request for the opening of negotiations from the other.
Article XIV
Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to affect other international agreements to which Australia and the People's Republic of China are parties or to prejudice the position of the Government of either country in regard to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed by both countries on the tenth day of December, One thousand nine hundred and eighty two.
Article XV
This Agreement shall enter into force on 1 March 1989 and shall remain in force for a period of one year. Both Governments shall consult in Canberra not later than three months before the expiry of this Agreement for the purposes of:
(1) reviewing the operations of the vessels under this Agreement including any problems identified by either Government; and
(2) discussing the terms and conditions under which any future agreement may be concluded.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorised by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done at Canberra this 17th day of November 1988 in the English and Chinese languages, both texts being equally authentic.
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA
[Signed:]
JOHN KERIN
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA:
[Signed:]
QIAN QICHEN
ANNEX 1
AUTHORISED AREA
The part of the Australian fishing zone to the north of Australia, with the exception of waters bounded by a line every point of which is 12 international nautical miles seaward of the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea of islands is measured, within the area bounded by a line -
(1) commencing at the point of intersection of the 200 metre isobath by the meridian of Longitude 117°30' East;
(2) running thence south along that meridian to its intersection by the parallel of Latitude 20°00' South;
(3) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 19°45' South, Longitude 118°00' East;
(4) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 19°40' South, Longitude 118°26' East;
(5) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 19°22' South, Longitude 118°53' East;
(6) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 19°19' South, Longitude 120°00' East;
(7) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 19°04' South, Longitude 120°44' East;
(8) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 18°23' South, Longitude 121°04' East;
(9) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 17°53' South, Longitude 121°30' East;
(10) thence north along the meridian of Longitude 121°30' East to its intersection by the parallel of Latitude 17°10' South;
(11) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 16°44' South, Longitude 121°46' East;
(12) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 16°00' South, Longitude 122°26' East;
(13) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 15°36' South, Longitude 122°51' East;
(14) thence north along the meridian of Longitude 122°51' East to its intersection by the parallel of Latitude 15°10' South;
(15) thence east along that parallel to its intersection by the meridian of Longitude 123°29' East;
(16) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 14°49' South, Longitude 123°45' East;
(17) thence south along the meridian of Longitude 123°45' East to its intersection by the parallel of Latitude 15°28' South;
(18) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 14°53' South, Longitude 124°08' East;
(19) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 14°12' South, Longitude 124°50' East;
(20) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 13°28' South, Longitude 125°43' East;
(21) thence east along the parallel of Latitude 13°28' South to its intersection by the meridian of Longitude 127°00' East;
(22) thence north-easterly along the rhumb line to the point of Latitude 13°21' South, Longitude 129°40' East;
(23) thence north along the meridian of Longitude 129°40' East to its intersection by the parallel of Latitude 12°30' South;
(24) thence west along that parallel to its intersection by the meridian of Longitude 127°30' East;
(25) thence north along that meridian to its intersection by the outer limit of the Australian fishing zone;
(26) thence generally westerly along that outer limit to its intersection by the meridian of Longitude 124°00' East;
(27) thence south along that meridian to its intersection by the 200 metre isobath;
(28) thence generally south-westerly along that isobath to the point of commencement.
ANNEX 2
PROCEDURE FOR LICENCE APPLICATIONS
Unless the Government of Australia has advised the Government of the People's Republic of China otherwise, the procedure for applying for and issuing licenses under Article II of this Agreement shall be as follows:
(a) The competent authorities of the People's Republic of China shall notify the competent Australian Department, currently the Department of Primary Industries and Energy, Canberra, (called in this Annex "the Department") of the appropriate organisation (called in this Annex "the Organisation") representing the fishing vessel or vessels to be licensed.
(b) The Department shall provide the Organisation with Australian licence application forms for distribution to the operators of the vessels.
(c) The Organisation shall deliver to the Department completed Australian licence application forms for each vessel and its crew.
(d) At the time of applying for licences, the Organisation shall submit a fishing plan for each vessel to the Department specifying, where appropriate, the calendar months in which that vessel expects to operate in the authorised area.
(e) Upon the granting of a licence the Department shall notify the Organisation within a reasonable time of the names of the vessels in respect of which licences have been granted and the serial number of each such licence.
(f) The Department shall make arrangements to deliver the licences to the masters of the vessels during or after their pre- fishing inspection.
(g) Fees shall be paid in advance of the issue of licences in one amount to the Department in freely disposable Australian currency free of exchange and service charges.
ANNEX 3
PROCEDURES FOR INSPECTION, REPORTING OF POSITION AND ENFORCEMENT
(1) Inspections
Licensed vessels, before beginning to fish in the authorised zone, shall call at a port permitted under Article V of this Agreement and shall there comply with the requirements of Australian authorities relating to pre-fishing inspections, delivery of the licence and associated documentation including a fishing log-book and briefing of the master and radio operator.
(2) Licensed vessels shall make subsequent port calls at any time or times requested by the Australian authorities for the purposes of this Agreement including inspections of vessels and briefing of new members of the crew.
(3) At the end of each fishing campaign, a licensed vessel may seek Australian approval to leave the Australian fishing zone without inspection. In this case, the vessel shall be deemed to be full and the catches for the purposes of Article IV shall be calculated by the Australian authorities based on Australian estimates of hold capacity made at the time of the pre-fishing inspection. Alternatively, a licensed vessel may call at a port permitted under Article V and shall there comply with the requirements of Australian authorities relating to post-fishing inspections and the delivery of log-books. In this case, the catch for the purposes of Article IV shall be calculated by the Australian authorities based on the post-fishing inspections, estimates of hold capacity and the log-books.
(4) Reporting
Licensed vessels shall make radio reports in accordance with the document entitled "Notes for the Guidance of Masters and Radio Operators on Licensed Foreign Fishing Vessels" as revised from time to time. In particular, each vessel shall report to the Australian Federal Sea Safety and Surveillance Centre
(a) the time, date and position at which it is intended the vessel will enter an Australian port or will enter or depart the authorised area at the beginning or end of each fishing campaign;
(b) the sailing plan of the vessel in the Australian fishing zone outside the authorised area;
(c) on every day, at the time specified in the Australian licence granted in respect of the vessel, the position of the vessel in the Australian fishing zone; and
(d) on every sixth day, the catch details according to the conditions of the licence.
(5) Log books
Licensed vessels shall maintain in the log books provided to them at the pre- fishing inspection a daily record of the information requested by the Australian authorities. Each vessel shall deliver its log-book to the Australian authorities whenever the vessel enters an Australian port, is inspected at sea by an Australian fisheries officer or undergoes a post-fishing inspection. If the vessel leaves the Australian fishing zone without a post-fishing inspection the log-book shall be sent to the Australian Authorities by registered air mail from the vessel's first port of call.
(6) Observers
The Australian authorities may, in accordance with relevant Australian laws and regulations require licensed vessels to carry Australian observers and to provide information to such observers. The costs of such observers shall be met by the competent authorities of the People's Republic of China.
(7) The Australian authorities shall give a minimum of two days notice of their intention to conduct an observer program in a specified area and of the detailed requirements to be met by licensed vessels.
