Surf Life Saving NSW’s popular rock fishing safety program moved to Sydney’s Northern Beaches where hundreds of participants and family members descended on Dee Why to learn how to keep safe, improve skills and receive a free lifejacket.
Workshop sessions included reviewing and wearing of correct lifejackets, clothing, and equipment to pack when rock fishing, plus expert fishing tips.
There also specific sessions to highlight the hazards, risks, conditions, and unsafe fishing locations in the Dee Why area, and the different types of emergencies, how to handle them and how emergency services can respond.
The program is supported by NSW Government through the Department of Primary Industries and allowed Surf Life Saving NSW to host a minimum of 10 coastal and 10 in-community.
From July 2021 to June 2022, 11 people lost their lives while rock fishing in NSW, and this summer, there were two rock fishing related drownings.