The search for a fisherman who was thrown into the water when his boat capsized in Botany Bay on Thursday night has been scaled back.
Family members of Tim Nguyen gathered on a rocky outcrop in Sydney's south to watch the search for a fisherman who was thrown from his boat overnight.
By mid afternoon hope began to fade.
Superintendent Leanne McCusker said police would continue to update family members.
"We are keeping them up to date with the investigation, with the status of the search, we are continuing to support them and they are doing as best as can be in the circumstances," she said.
"All available resources have been used in the search for this person ... the search is still continuing and it will be scaled back later this afternoon."
The 37-year-old Bankstown man had gone fishing only four times in his life before he got into a mate's boat and headed out towards Cape Banks at Botany on Thursday.
He hasn't been seen since the boat capsized in large two metre swell at 7pm.
Mr Nguyen's friends swam to shore, then clambered over the rocks to safety, suffering bruising and cuts.
Lifeguard supervisor Peter Halcro said he found the two men falling in and out of consciousness.
"They managed to climb up onto the golf course and I was treating them on the golf course," he said.
"The way the swell had been building during the day they were lucky to be able to have scrambled over the rocks.
"They were unresponsive at the start and with a bit of oxygen they came good."
Divers, jet-skis and rescue boats returned to the area at the tip of the Botany National Park on Friday morning to search for Mr Nguyen.
Clothing that may have belonged o Mr Nguyen was found on Friday morning, and rescuers have retrieved lifejackets that were floating in the sea.
Mr Halcro confirmed that, while the lifejackets were on board the boat, the three fishermen did not have them on.
"Lifejackets are key when you are out on the boat," he said.
An anchor, pieces of clothing, a fish finder and rope have also been pulled from the water.
Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter chief executive Stephen Leahy said the seas had reached two metres when the boat flipped.
"Really we had about 15-20 minutes of reasonable light to search with," he said.
It has been a horror fortnight for drownings along the NSW coast with 12 people losing their lives while rock fishing and swimming.
"A lot of these deaths could have been preventable if they were wearing a lifejacket," Mr Leahy said.
