Wearing a life jacket while rock fishing in parts of Port Stephens is set to become mandatory after councillors resolved to opt into the state's Rock Fishing Safety Act at last Tuesday night's council meeting.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, councils can opt into the legislation which requires people rock fishing in high risk area to wear life jackets.
As part of a Mayoral Minute, Port Stephens Mayor Ryan Palmer said the Act supported rock fishing in the safest manner possible.
“We’re lucky here in Port Stephens to have a great deal of our area surrounded by water, and rock fishing is an activity that many of our locals and visitors regularly enjoy," Cr Palmer said.
"However, it is an activity which also comes with some inherent risks, and we’re committed to putting safety first.
“By opting into the Act, we’ll be enforcing that all rock fishers and anyone assisting them – including children in their care – will be required to wear a life jacket. The basic fact is that life jackets save lives."
Opting in comes with a $30,000 grant from the state government which councils can use for education and signage.
The news has not been welcomed by all members of the community with some fishermen taking to social media to oppose the move by Port Stephens Council, such as Jason Smith.
Mr Smith, from Tarro, said he has been fishing in Port Stephens for close to 30 years.
He said he was opposed to fishermen having to wear a life jacket on rocks, calling them a "hindrance".
"I'm totally against it," Mr Smith said. "The safest thing you can do if you are swept into the water is push yourself away from the the rocks.
"You can't do that with life jackets.
"Trying to swim in an inflated life jacket is near impossible."
Mr Smith added that he believed the $30,000 government grant would be better spent on purchasing Angel Rings, life buoys installed at popular ocean rock fishing spots such as those found at the Boat Harbour headland, and installing them in the locations that have been flagged as a safety concern.
It is understood that, once the Act is in effect in Port Stephens, those caught fishing without a life jacket would be fined.
The legislation is set to take effect some time later in the year, Cr Palmer said.
A council spokesperson said there would be a 12 month grace period once the legislation came into effect in Port Stephens with police, National Parks and Wildlife Service, council and NSW Department of Primary Industries focusing on educating rock fishers rather than fining them.
"Working together with external agencies, we’re aiming to have this out to the community later this year," Cr Palmer said.
The council’s general manager, Wayne Wallis, will now have write to NSW Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) to formally commit Port Stephens Council to the Act.
It is expected Mr Wallis will write to DPI in the next two weeks.
“We recognise this is a change for our community, and we’ll be launching an education campaign in the coming months to explain more about the Act and what the new requirements are," Cr Palmer said.
According to council papers, between 2005 and 2016 there were more than 100 rock fishing deaths in NSW. The act was formed in response to the death toll as well as two subsequent Coronial inquiries.
