Treacherous weather conditions in Byron Bay are hampering efforts to find a missing Irishman in Australia.
19-year-old Stuart Butler from Dublin got into difficulty while out surfing with two friends at Tallow Beach on Saturday.
Inspector Bobbie Cullen, from the Tweed Byron Police station, is coordinating the operation.
She has been liasing with some of Mr Butler's family from Sydney, who are in touch with his family in Ireland and she said at this stage, it has become a recovery operation.