Archived Grant Opportunity View - GO2450
Fishing Business Assistance Program
Fishing Business Assistance grants provide assistance to directly affected commercial fishers with a recent history of fishing in Australian Marine Parks as they adjust their businesses to the new operating environment.
Five new Australian Marine Park management plans covering 44 Australian Marine Parks came into effect on 1 July 2018. These management plans set out how the Director of National Parks will manage the marine parks over the next 10 years including through zoning arrangements that protect Australia’s marine environment and support Australia’s world-class sustainable commercial fishing sector.
While the new management plans have significantly reduced the impacts on commercial fishers, some individuals may still be affected. Assistance is being provided for those commercial fishers directly affected by the new management arrangements.
The Fishing Business Assistance program is a component of the $35 million Fisheries Assistance and User Engagement Package announced by the Australian Government on 1 July 2018. To further support our sustainable fishing sector, the Australian Government has also opened a complementary program to provide $5 million for industry-led projects that improve long-term sustainable fishing and conservation outcomes in Australian Marine Parks.
To be an Eligible Person, a person must:
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be 'authorised to fish' (by the relevant fishery management agency) holding a relevant Authorisation that allowed Eligible Persons to operate in one or more of the affected Australian Marine Parks (see Appendix A of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines for a list of affected Australian Marine Parks) at the Eligibility Time. A definition of 'authorised to fish' is provided at Appendix B of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines
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have:
a. for Eligible Persons who are authorised to fish pursuant to the Commonwealth jurisdiction definition of 'authorised to fish' in Appendix B of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines - catch history associated with the Eligible Person from time to time during the Assessment Period in the relevant fishery in which the Eligible Person was authorised to fish as at the Eligibility Time
b. for other Eligible Persons - catch history during the Assessment Period associated with the relevant Authorisation under which the Eligible Person was authorised to fish as at the Eligibility Time
in locations where the fishing method which had been used is no longer allowed under the new Australian Marine Park management arrangements as defined by the displacement methodology in Appendix C of the Grant Opportunity Guidelines
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have a grant amount (see section 2) for the relevant Authorisation that is above or equal to a minimum threshold of $100 for that Authorisation
4. have an Australian Business Number (ABN).
Only Eligible Persons will be provided a letter of offer and will be eligible to accept a grant.
If two or more persons are together authorised to fish at the Eligibility Time (e.g. because an Authorisation is jointly owned), they will be treated as one Eligible Person for the purposes of these guidelines. The grant amount is only paid in its entirety and will not be split between bank accounts.
By invitation only