Fisherman all at sea after swim from drunken row

The man, in his early 40s, had been intent on swimming towards a boat near Chamberlains Bay - only he was swimming in the wrong direction. Photo / Thinkstock

Authorities are calling on people to be more responsible after a man jumped from a fishing vessel following a drunken argument at sea early yesterday morning.

The man told his two associates he was swimming towards another boat - about 6km away - and when they could no longer see him, they raised the alarm fearing he was in danger.

Senior Constable Steve Phillips of the Auckland police maritime unit said emergency services were called out to Opopo Bay, on Waiheke Island, just after 2am.

The man, in his early 40s, had been intent on swimming towards a boat near Chamberlains Bay - only he was swimming in the wrong direction.

A police vessel, a coastguard vessel and the police Eagle helicopter were all sent to the scene.

"When Eagle arrived, they spotted him about 300m away from the anchored vessel he had jumped off," Mr Phillips said.

"He was floating around for 40 minutes ... before he was pulled from the water. He'd sobered up from being in the water that long. He wasn't aggressive when he was found."

Mr Phillips said the man was tired and cold, but otherwise unhurt. However, things could have turned out worse and police advised people to be responsible on the water.

"It was a big waste of police and coastguard's time," he said. "He could've succumbed to hypothermia and drowned prior to any vessels arriving."