FAD · NSW

Batemans Bay FAD

Wind, gusts, swell, swell period and water temperature computed at the device itself — not at a land station kilometres inshore. Free, no login.

Right now at the Batemans Bay FAD: 5 kt E, gusting 10 kt, 1.4 m swell on a 7s period. Conditions look manageable for a 6 m+ boat.

Retrieved Calm 4 of 6 models agree

Conditions computed at the device's anchor point — the model grid cell sits 2.2 km away.

5kt
E · GUSTS 10 kt
SWELL 1.4 m · 7s
WATER 17.6°C yesterday

What the Batemans Bay FAD is

A fish aggregating device: a yellow buoy marked with a cross and a navigation light, moored to the sea floor in about 120 m of water. It holds bait, and bait holds pelagics — which is why a device fishes better than the open water either side of it. DPIRD's own monitoring puts mahi mahi at about 95% of the catch around NSW FADs.

Status
Retrieved
Depth
120 m
Mainly holds
Mahi mahi, Yellowtail kingfish
Peak run
December–March
Is it in the water? NSW DPIRD lists this device as Retrieved for winter maintenance as of 2026-08-23. Every NSW FAD is pulled over winter for cleaning, GPS checks and new anchors, chains and ropes, then redeployed for the warmer months — the run at the FADs is a summer game. The conditions below are real, but there is no buoy out there to fish right now.

NSW DPIRD — live FAD positions and status →  ·  Official FAD map

7-day conditions at the Batemans Bay FAD

22 11 1114172023020508 kt
Mean windGustsNext 24 h at the device
kt 19 Sun E 11:00 20 Mon N 06:00 22 Tue N 05:00 22 Wed S 11:00 22 Thu SSE 19:00 12 Fri SSW 05:00 7 Sat W 12:00
Bar = daily rangePeak gustColour = Fishare wind band
m 1.5 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.4 1.0
Swell height by day
DayWind (kt)GustFromSwellBand
Sun, 23 Aug 5–19 18 E 1.5 m Fresh
Mon, 24 Aug 9–20 16 N 1.0 m Fresh
Tue, 25 Aug 5–22 10 N 1.2 m Rough
Wed, 26 Aug 8–22 13 S 1.4 m Rough
Thu, 27 Aug 3–22 13 SSE 1.6 m Rough
Fri, 28 Aug 4–12 12 SSW 1.4 m Moderate
Sat, 29 Aug 1–7 16 W 1.0 m Calm

Six global models (ECMWF, GFS, ICON, GEM, Météo-France, UKMO) are run at this point and combined into one consensus per hour, outliers rejected. Swell and sea-surface temperature are open-ocean model values at the same point. None of it captures a squall line, or what the bar looks like on the way home.

Sea temperature at Batemans Bay FAD

17.6°C
Yesterday · Saturday 22 Aug

Wind decides whether you can go; water temperature decides what is worth going for — mahi, kings and tuna hold on the warm edges, not the calendar. This is an open-ocean model value at this point: an estuary or a shallow bay reads warmer or cooler.

Sea surface temperature around the NSW South Coast on Sunday 23 Aug — cooler water blue, warmer water red
14°C · 19°C · 25°C+ Sunday 23 Aug · yesterday
Water around the NSW South Coast ranged 17.1–18.1°C across this box. Grey is land or outside the model.
Today's map, the edges marked, and 7 days of movement

You can see the warm and cold water here. What you cannot see is where the edge sits today, which way it is tracking, or which of your spots sits on it — Fishare finds the breaks automatically and scores every spot against them.

Log in for today's SST map
Getting there. This is a genuine offshore run — full safety kit, log on and off with Marine Rescue, and check the NSW DPIRD position before you leave. Wider picture: wind forecasts by place and tide times.
Decision-support only — not a safety guarantee. Conditions change fast and local knowledge beats any forecast. You are responsible for your own safety.
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