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Posted 8 hours 43 minutes ago
Updated 7 hours 50 minutes ago

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Justin Hellyer: lost at sea when boat sank off Stansbury (ABC)

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A search has been called off for a fisherman who is missing off Yorke Peninsula in South Australia.

Justin Hellyer, 28, was on a boat netting for sharks when it was hit by a squall and sank on Sunday night.

A sea and air search has failed to find any sign of Mr Hellyer after almost a day.

He is originally from Mount Gambier but recently moved to Yorketown with his friend and crewmate Adam Nicolai, whose body was recovered from the sea during the day.

Their skipper Andrew Pisani, 33, swam six kilometres in the dark to raise the alarm.

He is now in hospital recovering from hypothermia.

Mr Pisani has told police their boat started taking on water too quickly for the bilge pump to cope.

He spent 30 minutes in the water with his crew mates, before he started swimming for the shore, without a lifejacket, to seek help.

Mr Pisani was found exhausted and disoriented near Stansbury caravan park, in the early hours.

He was suffering from hypothermia and had gashes to his legs from razor fish.

Darren Pisani says he is amazed by his brother's physical and mental strength.

"That's gutsy, you know. It's a long way to swim - and tired and windy," he said.

"I know - yesterday I was out in 40 knots fishing myself and, yeah, it would've been pretty hairy out there.

"The hypothermia would've got to you last night. Two hours in the water would've been enough."

Police say a recovery operation will be mounted from first light on Tuesday.