“It’ll be advantageous to everyone,” game fishing club president Ron ‘Simo’ Simpson said.

However he warned recreational anglers will get a raw deal if commercial trawlers have access to the reef.

“The pros will give it a work out if they can get to it,” he said.

“The best (artificial reefs) I’ve seen are built with a series of metal beams welded together.

“That way the pros can’t net them.”

Simo runs recreational fishing charters out of Jervis Bay, and notices considerable differences in terms of yield on his fishing trips when commercial trawlers are operating nearby.

“The question is, where will they put it?” Simo said.

“All of our water is deep water.

“The navy won’t have them anywhere in their area, there’s the marine park.

"Hopefully they put it in the marine park so the pros don’t trawl it.”

Recreational fishing is permitted in 80 per cent of the marine park, however all forms of recreational and commercial fishing are prohibited in sanctuary zones.

The Jervis Bay Marine Park covers an area of approximately 22,000 hectares, including the semi-enclosed waters of Jervis Bay and over 100 kilometres of coastline and ocean, extending from Kinghorn Point in the north to Sussex Inlet in the south. 

Upon announcing the state government’s intention to build an artificial reef at Jervis Bay, South Coast MP Shelley Hancock said three other reefs in NSW had been popular among recreational fishers.

“Local fishing clubs have been calling for an artificial reef and we know just how popular artificial reefs installed in other parts of the state have been with recreational fishers and anglers up and down the coast,” she said.

“Now Jervis Bay, the jewel of the South Coast, will get to enjoy not only the fishing, but the benefits of the reef economically.”