New Shoalhaven Offshore Reef

Gareth Ward Member for Kiama with the NSW Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson announced today that the Shoalhaven is set to become the State’s latest recreational fishing hotspot, with the new artificial offshore reef to be deployed there next week.

The reef has been constructed using 20 purpose-built concrete artificial reef modules, each 5 metres high and weighing over 23 tonnes – making it more than double the volume of the State’s first offshore artificial reef off the coast of Sydney and costing approximately $900,000.

Twenty huge concrete modules will be deployed in 30 metre deep water about four kilometres offshore from Shoalhaven Heads/about six kilometres from Crookhaven Heads.

The reef will create a new, high-quality fish habitat for a range of fish species and other marine life to benefit anglers across our region. Bait fish will colonise the reef, which will then attract larger target species including snapper and kingfish, providing a great fishing location for boat fishers.

Recreational fishing expenditure in NSW has been estimated at about $1.6 billion each year, with about 14,000 jobs created. More information on artificial reefs is available from the DPI website at: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/saltwater/artificial-reefs.