Talks to remove sunken trawler

A fishing trawler which hit rocks off Duranbah Beach and sunk this week.

John Gass /TWE300112boatcrash

Related links

• Trawler hits rocks on Duranbah Beach
• No salvage for stricken trawler
• Shipwrecked trawler on Duranbah Beach

NSW Maritime has warned swimmers and surfers to stay away from the wreck at Duranbah Beach.

A trawler has sunk in a rip, close to the northern rock wall, that hundreds of surfers use as a paddle out area to get behind the break every day.

Several surfers have been spotted paddling close to the wreck.

A NSW Maritime spokesman said the department was looking at marking the wreck.

"We would usually use a convergence anchorage technique as a way of marking the wreck but that is impossible at that location," the spokesman said.

The spokesman said the department was talking with the owners about removing the wreck.

"We are liaising with the owners and making sure they are taking steps to have it removed," he said.

The wreck is in a dangerous position for surfers with the Quiksilver Pro only a few weeks away.

Surfer Steve Archdeacon said on Wednesday that the wreck was a public safety issue.

He said it needed to be removed before it sunk into the sand and became a permanent underwater obstruction.