THE Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) has completed a two-year trial on the pros and cons of making lifejackets mandatory at high-risk rock fishing locations on a permanent basis.
However, while the trial was officially over on the last day of February, it has been extended, VFA Chief Executive Officer Travis Dowling, to ensure the safety of recreational fishers across Victoria while trial results are evaluated to determine longer-term arrangements.
“We know lifejackets save lives and we urge rock fishers to wear one no matter where they are right along the coast because no snapper is worth your life,” Mr Dowling said.
“The new and extended zones have been identified through the two-year trial and will be added to the high-risk locations, meaning these important rules remain in place while we review the data and consider preventative measures.”
The trial was spectacularly successful at Punchbowl Rocks near San Remo on Monday, November 13 last year when a fisherman, who was in the water for several hours, after being washed off the rocks while trying to retrieve a fish, was rescued by police helicopter.
One of the first responders said the man was wearing an approved PDF which almost certainly saved his life.
Now, almost everyone wears a lifejackets at Punchbowl rocks and the other dangerous rock fishing locations in the area.
The VFA has identified four new locations as high-risk zones where lifejackets will now be mandatory while the trial evaluation is taking place.
They are Jump Rock near Lorne and Phillip Island’s Sunderland Bay, Kitty Miller Bay and Cowries Rock Platform.
High-risk zones at Punchbowl Rocks and Potters Hill Road, near San Remo, will be extended to include all rock platforms between Bore Beach and Kilcunda.
Existing zones at Pyramid Rocks on Phillip Island, Artillery Rocks (west of Lorne), Sheoak Falls (south of Lorne) and Cape Bridgewater (near the blowholes car park), remain classified as high risk, with fishers requiring a compliant lifejacket.
All rock platforms along a more than 40-kilometre stretch of coastline between Point Nepean and West Head near Flinders will be deemed high-risk and fishers must wear a lifejacket. This includes rock platforms at Fingal Beach, where a fatality occurred in November 2023.
The trial mandated the use of compliant lifejackets – level 50S or greater – for adults fishing at the designated high-risk zones, with children under 12 required to wear a level 100 or greater lifejacket whether they are fishing or not.
Educational material is available in several languages detailing high-risk locations, types of compliant lifejackets and how rock fishers can stay safe. This information and signage at beach tracks will be amended to include the new zones.
To be clear, the lifejacket mandate will remain in effect in designated high-risk zones whilst the evaluation is being conducted.
To find out more and view maps of the high-risk zones, visit www.vfa.vic.gov.au/rockfishing
