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The number of preventable fatal drownings off the coast of the country has risen in the past five years, a sobering fact for those who work hard to save lives.
“That is the real tragedy,” said Paul Dalton, executive director of New Zealand Surf Life Saving (NZSLS).
“We’re not really solving the problem … we have to do something else to turn the tide, if you want, of the trend.”
The NZSLS National Beach and Coastal Safety Report, released Monday, analyzed data from the past year and the past decade. Found fatal drownings in coastal areas (tidal waters, such as estuaries, ports, marinas, in the ocean up to 1 km from the coast and inland up to five times the width of the inlet or river) increased by 18 percent in recent five years. compared to the previous five years.
SURF LIFE SAVING NEW ZEALAND
Men have died from drowning at a higher rate than women in the last decade.
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The average drowning rate went from 0.74 per 100,000 people in the five-year period from 2010 to 2015, to 0.83 per 100,000 people between 2015 and 2020. In this period, there was an average of 39 fatal drownings per year.
The report also found that the majority of drownings in the past 10 years occurred on surf beaches (38 percent), with swimming, boating and falls being the three highest risk activities. Of all the regions, Northland had the highest fatal drowning rate: 3.04 deaths per 100,000, which is almost five times higher than Auckland.
Dalton said the Northland data covers those who vacation there who are unaware of the conditions in the water.
Two groups were overrepresented in the data for this report: men and Pasifika. The Maori followed closely behind.
In the last 10 years, 360 people have died from drowning in a coastal area, of which 87% were men and 13% women.
Dalton said these statistics were unfortunately “quite stable” and a reflection of people’s attitudes towards water safety.
“[Men] tend to overestimate [their] ability and underestimate risk considerably compared to women.
“Women take less risk and have a better idea of what they are capable of doing.”
Using himself as an example, Dalton explained that his memory of his ability to swim is probably not reality.
More generically, he said it’s not usually deliberate risk-taking, but more inadvertent – it could be as simple as going fishing without a life jacket or jumping off a waterfall you’ve frequented over the years.
“Many of those risks can be mitigated by packing safety gear,” Dalton said. “Just simple, basic things that can make a big difference if things go wrong.”
The report also found that the Pasifika community had the highest fatal drowning rate in the last decade, with 1.31 deaths per 100,000 people. Maori followed closely with 1.13 deaths per 100,000 people and 0.91 deaths per 100,000 for other ethnicities.
In one year, between 2019 and 2020, fatal drownings within the Pasifika community fell below the 10-year average to 0.79 per 100,000, while all other ethnicities exceeded their respective averages.
Dalton said these numbers primarily reflect exposure to coastal environments.
Dr. Chanel Phillips, a Maori health and physical education professor at the University of Otago, which is Ngāti Hine and Ngāpuhi, agreed that the higher rates of fatal drownings among Maori and Pasifika were due to increased exposure , but this was only one of the reasons.
“We no longer have access to traditional or tikanga knowledge. [Higher fatal drowning rates] It may be due to a disconnection with the water or a change in relationship. “
Phillips did not find the overrepresentation of Pasifika and Māori in this data shocking – “It was not unexpected,” he said – but the fact that it is increasing was alarming.
“Now is the time, we have to do something and we must do better.”
Supplied
Dr. Chanel Phillips, from the University of Otago College of Physical Education, Sports and Exercise Sciences, says the increase in fatal drownings in the Maori and Pasifika communities is alarming.
More education is needed
The data shows that there is a need for additional education in this space, Dalton said.
“There is so much you can do as an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff … we really need a great fence at the top.”
Additional educational resources are needed to ensure that people make better decisions at those crucial moments, for example before jumping off a waterfall or swimming alone in the open sea.
[It] really go back to that real conversation that you [have] with yourself before you go and do something – have I understood all the risks that exist and do I really know my own capabilities?
“[It’s about] Those life and death decisions that people don’t appreciate are life and death decisions, ”Dalton said.
A collaborative approach is needed to ensure that water safety messages reach all New Zealanders and are actually heard.
“The messages are not transmitted or delivered in the correct way.”
Dalton said that a “European solution” will not necessarily work, so it was important that community groups work together to create a suitable solution.
The new Sectorial Strategy for Water Security 2025, entitled Wai ora Aotearoa: navigating towards a more secure future, was launched by Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ) last week. The industry-wide approach works to ensure that everyone connects and enjoys the water safely.
WSNZ Board Chairman Maurice Kidd said this industry alignment would ensure maximum buy-in for the vision and mission.
“There has been a strong collaboration during the development of this strategy. Now we need to continue to work constructively together to implement, monitor and evaluate our action plan, so that we achieve our vision: everyone connects and enjoys water safely, ”Kidd said.
Phillips’ evidence-based model, called Wai Puna, underpins the strategy. It focuses on three key pillars: whakapapa: attitudes and beliefs, mātauranga: knowledge, and tikanga: behavior.
“Water safety is not merely about teaching water skills,” said Philips.
The sectoral approach indicates a big cultural shift, Phillips said, and that it was based on a Maori framework was “pretty incredible.”
But before strategies and frameworks can make a difference, it is necessary to understand the high death rates.
“Part of the solution is really highlighting the problem so that people can talk about it and be aware of it,” Dalton said.
“We don’t want these things to just be on a computer somewhere, we really need them to get people talking … It’s that simple.”
CORRECTION: “Coast” and “coastal” have been added to the story to reflect that the numbers are for coastal drownings.
