Fisheries Management Act 1994

Before deciding whether an area identified by the Minister should be declared critical habitat, the Minister must have regard to the following—

the likely social and economic consequences of a declaration of the area as critical habitat,

without limiting paragraph (a), the likely consequences of a declaration of the area as critical habitat for landholders of, or other persons having an interest in, or in lawful uses of, the land concerned,

the advice of the Fisheries Scientific Committee on the matter,

any written submissions received by the Minister on or before the date specified for the receipt of public submissions about the preliminary identification of the area and, in particular, any submissions received from public authorities exercising relevant functions in relation to the area.

In so doing, the Minister must also consider whether, consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development, the area identified might be amended to avoid or lessen any adverse consequences of its declaration as critical habitat.