Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ) is reminding people to ensure they wear the appropriate safety equipment when rock fishing, following a successful rescue at Piha yesterday, where a lifejacket played a critical role in preventing another drowning death. So far this patrol season, surf lifeguards have responded to three tragic fatalities of rock fishers at west coast beaches in the Northland, Auckland, and Waikato regions, at Papanui Point, Tapotupotu Bay (near Cape Reinga, 23 November 2025), and Piha (26 December 2025).

At approximately 7:45am yesterday morning, the Police Maritime Unit advised SurfCom of a person in distress in the water at the gap at Piha. Police had received a phone call from a fisherman advising one of his companions had fallen into water at The Gap, south of Piha beach. The Piha Area Search & Rescue squad was activated, with off-duty lifeguards already at the club responding immediately.

The rock fisher’s friends also threw him a flotation device known as an “angel ring”, which are located on the rocks at the southern end of the beach.

With Police Eagle providing aerial surveillance, surf lifeguards launched an inflatable rescue boat (IRB), and quickly located the person in the water. While they were being carried by the current, the fact that they were wearing a lifejacket meant they were able to remain afloat, and the surf lifeguards successfully collected them from the water and returned them safely back to shore. The person did not require any medical attention.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand GM – Northern Region, Zac Franich says the outcome highlights the importance of wearing the appropriate safety equipment when rock fishing, particularly a life jacket.

“This is a really positive outcome, and the fact the fisherman was wearing a lifejacket made a critical difference,” Franich says.

“When people are swept into the water while rock fishing, conditions can change very quickly. A lifejacket helps keep you afloat, conserves energy and buys crucial time for rescuers to reach you. Were it not for the lifejacket, we could very easily have been reporting on a fatal drowning.”

Piha Surf Life Saving Club’s Club Captain and Piha Area SAR Squad Leader, Jessika Wanden-Hannay says that it was a relief to see a rock fisher using the appropriate safety equipment in what has long been a black spot for rock fishers.

“There have been too many preventable deaths of rock fishers at Piha, including two in recent memory, so it’s a relief to the club that this person was taking the appropriate precautions,” she says.

“We want to remind the public that we have a lifejacket library, providing free lifejackets for rock fishers as the southern end of the beach, and we encourage anyone who has forgotten theirs, or hasn’t brought one with them to do the right thing and keep themselves safe. Every fatal drowning at our beach has an emotional impact on that person’s friends and whānau, but it also has an emotional impact on our surf lifeguards here at the club. We want everyone who visits our beach to return home safely.”

Piha also has public rescue equipment available, located at South Piha at the beach entrance opposite Piha Surf Life Saving Club, and located next to the Te Pae observation tower at North Piha.

SLSNZ encourages all rock fishers to check conditions using SafeSwim, avoid fishing alone, and always wear a properly fitted lifejacket.

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