During the 1860s, most of the population at Hastings were fishermen or boat builders and their families, living in huts and cottages along the shore.

Shell middens along this coast provide evidence that the Boonwurrung people also fished here.

The fishing industry was one of the earliest industries established in the Hastings area, with fishermen settling there in the 1840s and early 1850s.

The Hastings Jetty was built in 1864 and was the focal point of fishing activities. Fishing continued as a major local industry in Western Port until the 1960s. As industrial development grew, commercial fishing declined, and now only recreational fishermen continue to fish in the bay.