Water Safety New Zealand wants primary schools to make sure their students leave knowing water safety skills and help put a stop to preventable drownings.
A study by Associate Professor Chris Button of Otago University shows New Zealand children lacked the basic knowledge to save themselves in the water.
Bay principals say water safety is vital and, while many understood the importance of aquatic education in schools, funding was a challenge faced by some schools.
Read more: Local Focus: Surfs up for little nippers in Whangamata
According to Water Safety New Zealand's Drowning Prevention Report, seven people drowned in the Bay last year and 21 people had to be admitted to hospital after getting into trouble in the water. Of the 107 people who drowned around New Zealand, 78 deaths were preventable.
Water Safety New Zealand believed water safety education needed to be a priority and every child aged between 6 and 11 should know water safety and awareness, how to get in and out of the water safely, submersion, personal buoyancy, orientation, how to maintain safety for themselves and others as well as moving through water.
Paengaroa School had two swimming pools and principal Bruce Lendrem said swimming skills were vital for children, particularly growing up in the Bay of Plenty where they were surrounded by waterways.
He said his school spent a lot of time ensuring children knew how to be safe in and around the water - skills he believed were vital.
Mr Lendrem said many school swimming pools in the region were old and, while some schools had updated them, others had been closed down.
The costs involved with maintaining and upgrading swimming pools were high and some schools struggled to legitimise spending a large chunk of a physical education budget on aquatic education, which was such a small part of the curriculum.
However, Mr Lendrem said the potential to save lives was more important.
Brookfield School principal Robert Hyndman said teaching children water skills was important so children were confident in and around the water.
However, he believed schools found it difficult to cover costs in running school swimming pools and there needed to be more funding available to them.
His school opened its pool in term one and it was about be used again this term.
Associate Professor Button's study found the knowledge of risks and emergency response was notably low and retention levels of taught water safety and survival skills were also low.
"This research shows that further attention to how these skills are acquired is needed amongst education providers."
Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Jonty Mills said if children were not learning crucial water safety skills, more people would drown.
"It's not acceptable that many Kiwi kids aren't even getting wet. We acknowledge there is a lot of pressure on schools, but these skills are essential for our Kiwi way of life."
Papamoa lifeguard Shaun Smith said it was important for everyone to learn to swim.
"We've definitely got a problem with drownings in New Zealand," he said.
"Whether it's from a lack of pools in schools, I don't know. But if you look at Papamoa for example, we've got a population of 3000 to 4000 kids going to school out here but with only one pool.
"My opinion is the parents don't have the money or the time to get kids involved in swimming.
"We are pretty lucky in that we've had no drownings in between the flags. Obviously now we are going to have more emphasis down at Papamoa East with more people, which all needs more funding. People expect us to be there but ... it all needs funding."
Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service general manager Glenn Bradley supported efforts to improve people's water safety skills.
He said surf lifesaving Nippers programmes were a good way for young people to develop in the water.