Life jackets mandatory when fishing from 10 popular Victorian rock platforms

See in which locations rock anglers will be forced to wear life jackets from 1 March onward.

New rock rules: Anglers will have to wear life jackets from March 1, when fishing from rock platforms at 10 sites along the Victorian coast.

Victorian anglers and their children will for the first time be forced to wear life jackets when rock fishing from 10 of the state’s most popular spots, extending from San Remo and Phillip Island to the Mornington Peninsula, Lorne and as far as Cape Bridgewater.

Just last month a woman drowned after being swept off rocks while fishing with her family at San Remo.

The new Fisheries (Rock Fishing Safety) Notice 2022, published in today’s Government Gazette, comes into effect on March 1 and “prohibits the use of recreational fishing equipment” on 10 specific rock fishing platforms “unless the person is wearing an approved life jacket”.

Anglers must also ensure any child under their care or supervision is wearing a PFD Type 1 lifejacket.

The requirement to wear a lifejacket does not apply to divers or spear fishers.

The maximum penalty for failing to comply with the new Victorian Fisheries Authority regulation is 100 penalty units ($18,174) or 6 months imprisonment or both.

VRFish chief executive Ben Scullin said the recreational lobby supported the move, given “encouraging people to come home from fishing is the number one priority, whether its land based or on a boat”.

Cape Shank Lighthouse rock platforms.

Sorrento back beach rock platforms.

The notice signed off by VFA Education and Enforcement director Ian Parks states a lifejacket is not an approved lifejacket for the purposes of this clause

if:

(a) the lifejacket relies solely on oral inflation for buoyancy; or

(b) the lifejacket is not the correct size for the wearer; or

(c) the lifejacket is not in good condition.

d) unless the lifejacket was purchased or otherwise acquired new by the current owner no more than 12 months ago or it has been serviced at intervals of 12 months or less or

at least at such longer intervals as are indicated by the manufacturer’s

instructions (if any) provided for the lifejacket.

Artillery Rocks Lorne platforms, where life jackets must be worn.

Specified rock fishing platform means all natural rock structures found between the high tidemark and the low tide mark and the spray zone of the areas shown hatched on the plan.

No. 16 Beach Rye rock platforms.

Cape Bridgewater blowholes rock platforms.

Bushrangers Bay rock platforms near Cape Shank.

Pyramid Rocks Phillip Island rock platforms.

Potters Hill Road, San Remo rock platforms.

Punch Bowl, San Remo rock platforms.

Sheoak Falls, Coastal rock platforms southwest of Lorne.