Search for fisherman under way after empty boat found floating off coast

An urgent search has resumed on Saturday for a man missing after his fishing boat was found empty and floating off the coast early on Friday.

Police recovered the vessel about 20 nautical miles east of the Burleigh Headland at 2am on Friday, hours after the 44-year-old was supposed to have returned to Runaway Bay Marina.

Nine News has identified the man as Ash Haigh, an experienced fisherman and prominent member of the Gold Coast Game Fish Club.

A major search is underway spanning all the way to Byron Bay on the NSW north coast. Multiple aircraft have been deployed.

The boat may have suffered minor damage, Senior Sergeant Shannon Gray told reporters on Friday afternoon.

“It’s generally in fairly good condition, but there is some water in the hull and a further examination … will take place,” he said.

Gray added the keys were not found in the ignition, but on a seat.

“I wouldn’t have thought [that’s typical], but the circumstances as to what happened in the boat are still unknown, and we may never know exactly what happened.

“There are two boarding ladders [on the boat], one of them was down into the water … I’m not willing to speculate what that means at this time.”

The search was continuing on Friday night.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.