Region's dangerous waters claim seven lives last year

Northland had the lowest number of drownings since annual records began last year but the region is still a water safety hotspot.
Last year's seven drownings put Northland third in New Zealand for water deaths per population.
The seven deaths were one fewer than in the previous year.
Surf Lifesaving New Zealand's northern region manager Dean Storey, from Mangawhai, said the improved statistics hid the reality that the region with New Zealand's largest coastline also had one of its most dangerous.
The lower toll had more to do with luck than water-safety awareness, Mr Storey said.
Northland's west, east and north coasts all had swells and tidal action as big as Auckland's infamous west coast, he said. But too many people still took to the water with a dangerous mix of "over-confidence and ignorance".
"Swimming is a fundamental skill that all New Zealanders should have, and particularly people up here, given the access to the coast that Northland offers to its population."
Surf Lifesaving will this year carry out a coastal risk assessment on the region, Mr Storey said.
"That'll give us a blueprint for a regional, localised water safety strategy - it's a no-brainer."
The assessment would cover issues such as better signs, water recreation safety and learn-to-swim programmes, lifeguard services, water access and boatie education, among other topics. Five of the drownings in Northland last year were in the Far North and two in Whangarei Districts.
Only two were not linked to recreation. A man and a woman drowned after being swept away when trying to cross flooded Waikare Stream, near Kawakawa, in July.
A man drowned while swimming at Paihia, one person died after falling off rocks while fishing at Ninety Mile Beach, another after falling from a boat and two men died in separate incidents while rescuing others in trouble.
At 4.7 deaths per 100,000 people, the Northland figure was well above the national average of 2.4 per capita.
And the number of drownings was likely to rise again unless all children were taught to swim at school, andunless ``boy racers in boats' were stopped, the head of New Zealand Water Safety has warned.
General manager Matt Claridge is calling for a return to compulsory swimming lessons in schools.
"All New Zealand children should learn to swim while at school.
"Children must be able to access a pool, school teachers must be trained to teach swim and survival skills and the curriculum must recognise the ability to swim as an outcome," Mr Claridge said.
Parents need to understand the importance of children learning to swim, but it shouldn't be the cost-based issue it often was for families, he said.
Increased use of small water craft such as kayaks and jetskis was another big water safety issue the country needed to address.
"They can be out on the water on these things within minutes of buying them, whether they know how to use them or not."
Nationwide, 96 people drowned last year, the second lowest since record-keeping began in 1980.
The highest was 148 deaths in 1998.
Last year's toll made drowning New Zealand's third-highest cause of accidental death, behind road crashes and falls. The toll per capita is twice that of Australia, Mr Claridge said.