Council acts on life jackets

The councillors voted to begin the process of adopting the state government's Rock Fishing Safety Act, which worked on an opt-in basis.

"The Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016 continues to remain the only available legislative means in NSW to have rock fishers mandated to wear an appropriate life jacket when fishing at high-risk locations," council's business papers stated.

It is understood the job of enforcement would fall to NSW Police rather than council officers.

"It is noted that where councils have opted in, the enforcement of the Act remains primarily reliant on the availability of NSW Police to pursue regular patrols or task-focused enforcement events when resourcing permits," business papers stated.

The move came about after the deaths of a number of people - including teenage fisherman Brenden Buxton Hurd - after being swept off rocks at Hill 60.

"Since early 2021, a total of six rock fishers have tragically lost their lives at a popular rock fishing location on a rock platform below Hill 60, Port Kembla, located on Sydney Water land known as Honeycomb Rocks," the council papers stated.

Council began developing strategies to reduce the death toll, including the erection of signage and several on-site information workshops.

Opting into the rock fisher legislation is another of those strategies, and the business papers stated Randwick and Sutherland Shire councils reported a decline in incidents and deaths after taking on the legislation.

The life jacket rule would be in force at those locations deemed "high risk".

While Honeycomb Rocks is the location with a dark history, council papers identify a large number of high-risk fishing areas, including almost the entire coastline between Otford and Thirroul.

At the meeting Cr David Brown said the detail of the map would need to be updated before placing it on public exhibition, noting that some of the locations highlighted weren't used for fishing.

Cr Tania Brown said it was time for council to act because "Honeycomb Rocks is one of the most dangerous fishing areas in the state".

Adding an amendment, Cr Linda Campbell called on council to investigate the possibility of hiring or loaning out life jackets.

Councillors at Monday night's meeting passed the motion unanimously.

Council will now seek public feedback on the proposal before lodging a request to the state Local Government Minister to classify Wollongong as a high-risk fishing location - which is required to opt into the act.