Retailers of fishing bait and tackle could be required to display point of sale safety information about the dangers of rock fishing under a proposal being backed by Randwick Council.

Randwick Councillors unanimously supported the proposal dubbed ‘Hasti’s law’ at their Council Meeting on 22 August 2023 and will now seek a meeting with NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong to discuss its implementation.

The safety idea was proposed by Ms Hasti Heidarzadeh Sadrabadi who lost her husband Payam and 10-year-old son Mahan in a rock fishing accident in January 2022 at Little Bay.

The family purchased their fishing rods and tackle from a major retailer the day before going fishing and were not aware of the dangers of rock fishing, the requirement for a fishing license or the need for safety equipment such as lifejackets and cleats.

In a letter to Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker whose LGA takes in Little Bay, Ms Sadrabadi said:

“By focusing on a local scale, we can be more effective in reaching the most vulnerable and less experienced individuals who often lack the necessary knowledge and skills to recognise the dangers associated with rock fishing.”

Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker said Ms Sadrabadi’s proposal made a lot of sense and was worth investigating further.

“Ms Sadrabadi’s strength and courage through this horrific ordeal is to be commended,” Mayor Parker said. “What she has gone through no mother or father should ever have to endure.

“Requiring retailers to display rock fishing safety information at the point of sale of any bait and tackle would be an effective means to reach fishers – and particularly new fishers and new rock fishers, who like Mahan and Payam may not have been aware of the dangers of rock fishing.

“Had they been aware at that time of purchase about the rules around rock fishing, of the dangers, of the need for a license, safety gear and a lifejacket, it’s very likely they would have made a different decision and not gone fishing that day,” Mayor Parker said.

Twenty-one people have died rock fishing in Randwick City since 2001, making the Randwick LGA coastline statistically the most deadly in the country.