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Southern Bluefin Tuna

​Listing of Southern Bluefin Tuna as conservation dependent questions and answers

On 24 November 2010, the federal environment minister announced his decision to list southern bluefin tuna as conservation dependent under national environmental law (the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) (the EPBC Act).

Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna

The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for the conservation and sustainable use of the global southern bluefin tuna (SBT) stock.

The CCSBT management target is to recover SBT stock to 30% of its unfished levels by 2035.

The commission also provides guidance and updates global catch limits, usually every three years.

International fisheries

Several of Australia’s most valuable fisheries are managed at an international level because the stocks are either migratory or straddle Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the high seas. UN treaties which Australia has ratified require us to cooperate with other countries in the management of those fish stocks.

Stakeholder input

Stakeholder meetings

Mr Borthwick conducted face-to-face discussions with key government, industry, environment, scientific and other stakeholders throughout the course of the review, including the following:

Fisheries management review

​​​​​​​​In September 2012, the former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, commissioned an independent review of the policy and legislation governing the Commonwealth’s fisheries management system – ‘Review of Commonwealth Fisheries: Legislation, Policy