Portarlington Pier

Pier Dive | Shore access

Portarlington Pier | © Phil Watson

Depth: 2 m (6.56 ft) to 5 m (16 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

Portarlington Pier on the Bellarine Peninsula is best dived at high tide for extra depth under the pier. The sheltered, sandy site makes a nice night dive. You'll probably spend most of your time exploring the outer wall, but beware of fishing lines and take a good dive knife.

Don't forget to check out the artificial reefs 40 to 70 metres seaward of Portarlington Pier's rock wall section. As they are more than 30 metres away from the pier, you can go spearfishing on them.

Location: Portarlington
MELWAY Ref: Page 444 H6

Protected from southerly winds. See WillyWeather (Portarlington Pier) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Portarlington Pier Dive Sie Map | © The Scuba Doctor

Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) Shore Based Reefs in Port Phillip

The artificial Port Phillip Shore Reefs were installed with the aim of improving recreational fishing opportunities for shore based anglers. The reefs are in a water depth of between 3 to 4.5 metres.

The shore based artificial reefs are:

• Altona Pier — Artificial reef 40 to 65 metres seaward from the end of Altona Pier.
• Frankston Pier — Articial reef approximately 40 metres seaward from the end of Frankston Pier.
• Portarlington Pier — Artificial reef 40 to 70 metres seaward of Portarlington Pier's rock wall section.

What Do The Reefs Look Like?

Each reef consists of 99 hollow dome shaped reef modules of different sizes arranged in three reef complexes of 33 reef modules each. The reef modules range between 170 and 340 kg in weight and 50 to 60 cm height, and have numerous external openings to allow movement of currents and fish through the modules.

See also, VFA: Shore Based Reefs.

Spearfishing is illegal within 30 metres of any pier or jetty and in Marine National Parks. See Spearfishing Laws.

Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.

 

Portarlington Pier Location Map

Latitude: 38° 6.752′ S   (38.112541° S / 38° 6′ 45.15″ S)
Longitude: 144° 39.109′ E   (144.651819° E / 144° 39′ 6.55″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-03-22 14:08:30 GMT
Source: GPS
Nearest Neighbour: Steeles Rocks, Portarlington, 1,175 m, bearing 87°, E
Bellarine Peninsula.
Depth: 2 to 5 m.

DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.