Searchers have found the bodies of three fishermen who went missing in Port Phillip Bay off Altona, in Melbourne’s west.

The alarm was raised when an upturned, small tinny was found more than a kilometre offshore by a fisherman on the beach about 4:30pm on Sunday.

The first body was found wearing a life jacket about nine kilometres south of where the capsized boat was discovered.

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The second was located two hours later, around four kilometres south of the first body and the third body was retrieved about 3:00pm on Monday.

The Melbourne Coast Guard said the final body was found after its rescue team spotted a life jacket.

The bodies have yet to be formally identified, but police said they are believed to be those of the missing fishermen.

The three men, Steven Do, his brother David Do, and Phuong Nyugen, are from Sunshine West, a suburb in Melbourne’s west.

Steven is a sign writer. David and Phuong are co-workers. The men are all in their 30s.

Distressed family members, who arrived at the Altona boat ramp as the search resumed, were earlier told by police to remain hopeful but to prepare for the worst.

The sister of one of the men said it was the first time the trio had been out in the boat, which was new.

She said the men had safety equipment on board.

Earlier, Senior Sergeant Mark O’Rourke from the water police said the search would continue throughout the day.

“We got notified by a person who was fishing in the area and they saw the boat overturned,” he said.

“We believe they may have gotten into trouble a bit earlier [than when the report was made].

“Initially we found a fishing rod, south of the location of the vessel, but nothing else.”

He said the men had made an earlier phone call to their family saying they were on the water fishing “in their spot”.

Boat ‘not the most appropriate vessel’ for bay

All three bodies were found almost 24 hours after the search began for the missing fishermen. Photo: ABC

Police said the owner of the boat was licensed but the vessel was not suitable for bay conditions.

“I would describe it as an aluminium punt, flat bottomed and better suited to inland waterways,” Senior Sergeant O’Rourke said.

“People do go out in these kinds of vessels, but for these conditions, [it was] probably not the most appropriate vessel.”

The Victoria Police Air Wing, coast guard and local officers are taking part in the search.

“We have 10 people searching in five different boats. We have an air wing crew and a crew of four search and rescue divers,” Senior Sergeant O’Rourke said.

“We’ll continue searching during daylight hours and reassess once it gets dark.

“I think with the weather conditions, most people were looking at their conditions and going, you know what, it’s not safe to boat so we’re staying on land.”