Despite a decline in the southern regions, Surf Life Saving New Zealand lifesaving general manager Andy Kent said nationwide, rescues had increased by more than 100 over the 2025-26 summer season, to 726 rescues.
During the SLSNZ patrol season, which ran from late October through to April, surf lifeguards also performed 888 assists to safety, and 47,463 preventive actions, keeping more than 632,492 beachgoers safe before an incident occurred.
While there were 63 fatal drownings nationwide, Southern regional general manager Stu Bryce said there was only one in Otago and Southland — at St Clair Beach, on February 19.
An elderly man, believed to be a local, was in the water by the saltwater pool, when he started waving for help.
He was brought ashore by two French tourists with surfboards, but despite a major attempt by emergency services to resuscitate him, he was unable to be revived.
Mr Bryce said the Otago and Southland regions had six patrol locations — from Warrington in Otago, to Oreti Beach in Southland.
During the season, there were only 10 rescues, 15 assists to safety, 14 search operations, 1493 preventive actions and two people needing major first aid attention.
Despite the one fatality, the statistics were "awesome" for the community, he said.
"The big thing is, our guys and girls go to the beaches to stop any of this sort of thing happening, and the safest place to swim is between the flags.
"So clearly, these stats show that most people went to the safest place and enjoyed their time at the beach."
He believed the poor summer weather had had a significant impact on the data.
"All those numbers go down with less people going to the beach.
"We did have some beautiful evenings and some beautiful days, but the majority were not the summer that we’d hoped for.
"Hopefully, a different weather pattern kicks in next season and we get a beautiful summer."
Mr Kent said weather and coastal conditions early in the season created an increase in drownings and serious incidents, especially on the west coast of Auckland and the Bay of Plenty.
Of the 63 drownings during the summer patrol season, Water Safety NZ statistics showed 18 were at, or near, patrolled beaches and occurred outside surf lifesaving patrol hours or locations.
There were no drownings inside the red and yellow flags.
Mr Kent said the number of fatalities this season highlighted the need for continued investment in patrol services, training, and public education.
"Across the country, our lifeguards have once again shown exceptional skill and commitment to proactively keep people safe in often unpredictable and high-risk environments.
"This season reinforced a clear message — while lifeguards are there to help, the majority of serious incidents continue to occur outside patrol hours, outside flagged areas, or during high-risk activities.
"Our focus heading into next season is ensuring we have the resources, capability and coverage to meet demand, while continuing to educate the public on how to stay safe."
Patrols have stopped for the season, and he reminded New Zealanders they were now responsible for their own safety at the beach.
