A 52-year-old man is dead after a charter fishing boat capsized at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast this morning.
The alarm was raised just before 6am when a commercial fishing vessel flipped at the mouth of the Mooloolah River.
A police spokesperson said a fishing boat tipped over with five people on board.
Police on scene said they believed three people on board the charter were wearing life jackets and two were not.
Investigations are ongoing.
A commercial fishing vessel flipped at the mouth of the Mooloolah River. (Supplied)
Man ‘experienced skipper’
Robert Smith has been identified as the skipper who died.
He operated Smithy’s Fishing Charters on the Sunshine Coast and had years of experience.
According to Mike Middleton, who knew him professionally, the skipper was affectionately known as “Smithy”.
“Rob was a well-known member of the Mooloolaba boating and tourism industry. He was one of the most experienced skippers and used to log in with coastguard at Mooloolaba every time he went in and out,” Mr Middleton said.
“He was very dedicated to what he did. He really knew his stuff and if anybody knew in and out of the bar, it was him. And I’m quite shocked to hear that the boats actually rolled over on the bar.
“Rob was sensational … and a really lovely human to deal with …. I’m really saddened to hear about this incident.”
The skipper of a fishing charter boat that capsized on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has died. (ABC News: Jake Kearnan)
Mr Middleton said the bar needed urgent attention.
“We need to look at this as a growing area for tourism. This incident is going to affect tourism enormously,” he said.
“It’s going to affect whale watching, diving, fishing, and all the charter businesses.”
Boat was ‘taking on water’
Sunshine Coast chief lifeguard Trent Robinson said the commercial charter boat was headed out to sea near the Mooloolaba spit.
He said it was low tide and the waves were breaking through heavily when the 7-metre boat started “taking on water”.
“The 1.5m swell was ongoing when a large wave hit the boat and it rolled over,” he said.
Originally, emergency services thought the 52-year-old skipper, who was unaccounted for, could still be in the hull.
They took to the boat, smashing it up, to try and find him.
He was later retrieved from the water, deceased.
Mr Robinson said a Mooloolaba Surf Life Saver retrieved the man while searching on a jet ski.
“They did a fantastic job on scene,” he said.
‘Loss to the community’
Sunshine Coast District Chief Inspector Jason Overland said at about 5am, the commercial fishing charter boat was navigating the bar at Mooloolaba when it was struck by a wave and overturned.
He confirmed four of the five people on board made it to shore safely.
“The driver of the vessel was later located deceased,” he said.
“The waves are quite treacherous at that location on the bar. I don’t imagine it was too far from the shore.”
Jason Overland says the waves in the area can be treacherous. (ABC News: Jessica Ross)
Inspector Overland said three of the survivors made it to shore unassisted.
“However, a fourth person made it to the shore some time after that and was assisted,” he said.
“The captain of the vessel was a well-known charter boat operator and was taking people out on fishing tours, and has been doing so for some time, so it’s a loss to the community.”
Inspector Overland confirmed investigations were ongoing.