Have your say: Draft amendments to the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery Management Plan
In November 2025, the PZJA agreed to release the draft Torres Strait Prawn Fishery Management Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Plan 2025 for public comment.
The Plan Amendment makes several amendments to the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery Management Plan 2009 (TSPF Plan), to bring it up to date with the current fishery management environment and remove old clauses that are no longer required.
The amendments were supported by the Torres Strait Prawn Management Advisory Committee (TSPMAC), which includes five Torres Strait Islander industry members alongside commercial fishers and Government agency representatives.
In summary, the amendments:
- remove the requirement that a licence can only be granted or transferred to an individual Australian Citizen and allowing Australian Companies to hold licences
- clarify rules by changing the wording in the TSPF Plan to be clearer in what it requires
- move rules into the TSPF Plan that used to be in other legislative instruments that are in place for the fishery
- move some rules out of the TSPF Plan which are already included in the Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984, or another legislative instrument. The management plan does not need to duplicate information in other legal documents.
Only one of these amendments will change the rules in the TSPF, by removing the requirement that a licence can only be granted or transferred to a person who is an Australian Citizen.
An Australian Citizen, by definition, is an individual, which prevents a licence being issued to an incorporated company. Removing references to ‘Australian citizen’ will allow Australian companies to hold licences. This is common practice across other fisheries in Australia.
This change in the TSPF Plan is consistent with the Torres Strait Fisheries (Quotas for Tropical Rock Lobster (Kaiar)) Management Plan 2018.
Understanding the proposed changes
The plain English summary explains what is changing, and the reasons the changes are required, in more depth.
How to provide comments
Comments may be submitted:
- by email to fisheriesTI@afma.gov.au
- by post to PO Box 376, Thursday Island QLD 4875
- by phone, on one of the contact numbers below, if you prefer to make your submission through an interview process.
Comments are due by close of business on Friday 27 February 2026.
Contact AFMA
If you have any questions regarding this process, or would like to discuss the draft amendments, please contact the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA):
Lisa Cocking, Senior Management Officer, Torres Strait Prawn Fishery
Phone: 02 6225 545
Email: lisa.cocking@afma.gov.au
Darci Wallis, Manager, Torres Strait Prawn Fishery
Phone: 02 6225 5408
Email: darci.wallis@afma.gov.au
Concurrent consultation
In addition to this broad public consultation, the TSPMAC recommended that direct consultation occur with the Masig, Poruma and Ugar communities, as these communities are in closest proximity to the TSPF fishing grounds.
Consultation occurred in November 2025 with Masig and Poruma, with no issues with the proposed changes raised.
AFMA is working to complete consultation with Ugar, ideally in person in early 2026, or if this is not possible, through other suitable consultation methods.