Keen whitebaiter rescued twice

Whitebait. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A whitebaiter swept out to sea and rescued by Coastguard this morning also had to be pulled out of the river yesterday, police say.

The man, thought to be in his 50s, was spotted floating down the Ngaruroro River in Clive, Hawke's Bay, this morning by another whitebaiter and spent about an hour in the water before being pulled unharmed from the sea by Coastguard.

Fellow whitebaiters also had to rescue the man yesterday, after he fell in the same river, Senior Sergeant Freddie Van Duuren said.

He said the man was "well prepared" for a watery dip, wearing a wetsuit and lifejacket when he was rescued today, and still clutching his whitebait net - although it is not clear how much of the pricey delicacy remained in it.

Mr Van Duuren said it was unusual to be wearing a wetsuit when going whitebaiting, as most people secured the net to a stand and waited for the whitebait to swim in.

"Maybe he got a shock from the day before, I don't know .... Whether he got any extra whitebait for his troubles, I'm not sure."

The man was checked by paramedics and did not need medical treatment.

It was not clear how he ended up in the water but Mr Van Duuren said Hawke's Bay had had a bit of rain in recent days and rivers were full and murky.

"I suppose the message is, you have to be vigilant. You may have been doing it for years and year ... but you still have to treat these things with a bit of caution."

- NZPA