The body of a missing Canberra man who was swept off rocks near Eden while fishing on Monday was found last night.
The two-day search for the 57-year-old Ngunawal man ended after someone spotted his body at about 8pm at the northern end of Merimbula Bay, almost 30km from where he was last seen.
Surf Life Saving duty officer Andrew Edmunds said Eden Water Police retrieved the man's body from the water.
The man, who is of Asian background, drove to Eden at about 4 o'clock on Monday morning and was due back in Canberra at 11 o'clock that night. It is believed he man was fishing at Haycock Point without a lifejacket from about 8.30am and was swept off the rocks before 2.30pm. He was first reported missing by a fellow fisherman, who noticed the man's equipment had been left unattended.
The man's family watched on as a massive search was conducted by local water police, volunteers, State Emergency Service officers, lifesavers and the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter yesterday.
Despite an extensive land, air and sea search, rescuers were unable to find anything and called off the search at 2pm.
Mr Edmunds praised the actions of everyone who took part in the search. ''We had very challenging conditions for the two days of the search,'' he said.
''Sadly we were unable to find the man alive and it is a very sad reminder why people should wear lifejackets when rock fishing.''
Eight people have drowned on the far South Cost from Bawley Point to the Victorian border this surf lifesaving season.
A second rock fisherman went missing yesterday at Hat Head, just north of Port Macquarie on the NSW coast, but he was found later that afternoon.
There are about eight drowning deaths from rock fishing per year in NSW, according to a 2011 study from the NSW Royal Life Saving Society.
Males account for the majority of deaths, and most deaths could be prevented by the use of safety equipment, the study found.
Rock fishers of Asian backgrounds accounted for 59 per cent of drowning deaths between 2000 and 2007.
Recreational Fishing Alliance of NSW chairman Malcolm Poole said the alliance was working with a Safer Coastal Waters sub committee with the state government to try and identify ways to reduce rock fishing deaths.
''The question is, what creates these spikes, is it weather conditions, is it people's complacency, is it seasonal, they are the sorts of things we're trying to work through,'' Mr Poole said.
''The basic messages are, wear the right gear, go fishing with a mate, tell someone where you go, check the tides and the weather, be cognisant of your environment the whole time.'' with The Eden Magnet
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