Between 8pm and 10pm, multiple phone calls to Triple-Zero (000) were logged reporting the sighting of two flares let off in the Merimbula Bay area.

Eden Water Police conducted an extensive search from Merimbula Bay right down to Haycock Point and beaches in between.

Merimbula Police were tasked to patrol boat ramps, the Long Point area and surrounding beaches.

Police said no radio distress calls or EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) signals had been lodged by boaters.

The search was discontinued as nothing suspicious had been found. 

On Thursday, Police made the decision to call the Westpac Rescue Helicopter to assist in a further daylight search.

Eden Water Police sergeant Steven Judd said it was a strange call out given the time of night and decisions were made to treat the situation accordingly.

“To confirm it was a false alarm we called-in the Westpac rescue chopper the next day to check for any life jackets or significant debris washed up.

“Often we get called to jobs similar to that in summer from kids lighting fireworks, but given the current situation with fires in the area we have to treat things seriously,” he said.

“As for people letting off flares for fun, it is not funny, it’s just not on.”

During the Westpac Rescue Helicopter search, abandoned fishing gear was found on a rock ledge which alarmed the NSW Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) who posted a call out on Merimbula/Pambula Buy Swap and Sell Facebook page reaching out for more information on the incident.

“Reading in between the lines of the Westpac chopper’s twitter post, you have to ask the question as to what is the situation associated with fishing gear left on a rock platform,” NSW RFA fishing safety officer Malcolm Poole said. 

“One of the things we are faced with over the years of coronial inquests into rock fishing fatalities is that rock fishers don’t put any identification with their fishing gear.

“If search and rescue come along and find something and they don’t know who it belongs to, whether it is the missing person they are looking for or someone else."

“Because rescue services said there is nothing suspicious and the fishing gear was nothing untoward, I still believe their should be clarity around rock fishers leaving identification with their gear,” Mr Poole said. 

CEO of Westpac Life Saver Helicopter Rescue Stephen Leahy confirmed the gear was nothing suspicious and the search was discontinued on Thursday morning. 

“We searched the area with Water Police and found nothing suspicious, although when conducting the search we found some fishing gear, clothes and cooking equipment on the rock shelf,” Mr Leahy said.

“It was seen that someone had been staying there, obviously nothing untoward to that so the search was discontinued.”