AUSTRALIA’S Foreign Minister Bob Carr wants to make Chinese Australians aware of the dangers of rock fishing.
Of those who drowned last year while fishing on rocks along NSW two-thirds came from the Asian community – a figure Carr says he finds deeply concerning.
The Australian reports that Senator Carr spoke last Friday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach to help launch a new multi-lingual campaign which urged Asian anglers to be aware of the dangers of drowning while rock fishing.
“This is a very popular recreation but it’s inherently dangerous because of the sort of seas we see out there today,” he said as strong wind and rain hit Sydney.
“When you are lifted off the rocks and into the ocean, all bets are off. You are in trouble.
“We want to make Chinese Australians who love rock fishing, we want to make them a bit nervous about the way the environment suddenly changes, about the prospect of them being dashed into the ocean.”
“There are hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists coming to Australia every year and we need to alert them to the risk that the Australian-born grow up with and are alerted to,” he said.
Stan Konstantaras from the Australian National Sportfishing Association said NSW was one of the only places in the world where the most sought-after fish could be caught on the doorstep of a coastal city.
“It’s a very cheap way for us to fish … so it’s really attractive to a lot of us,” Mr Konstantaras said.
“But if it’s too rough, go home.”
More than 150 people have died while rock fishing in NSW over the past 20 years, with most being of Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean descent.
