KEY POINTS:
Lifeguards have renewed safety warnings after an experienced rock fisherman was swept to his death at Bethells Beach on Waitangi Day.
Two lifeguards found engineer Martin Firth badly battered 15 metres into a cave.
"No one could stop him when he wanted to go. He loved his fishing," said his mother, Lorraine Firth, who unsuccessfully tried to encourage her son to wear an inflatable vest.
The 49-year-old precision engineer often caught 4.5kg snapper on the rocks at Bethells Beach.
But Lorraine had checked the sea conditions the night before and hoped her son would not go out the next morning. "The seas were heavy and the conditions rough," she said.
Lifeguards in an inflatable rescue boat and on jetskis found the site where Firth had been fishing. It was being pounded by two-metre waves.
Lifeguard Ari Peach jumped from the Westpac rescue helicopter and swam, with a rescue tube, into the cave where he found Martin submerged. The fisherman was confirmed dead by paramedics on shore at Bethells Beach.
Northern region lifesaving manager Dean Storey said the incident was a tragic reminder of the hazardous nature of Auckland's west coast.
He said rock fishermen should always wear an inflatable lifejacket and be aware of conditions.
The death brings to 18 the number of people drowned this summer, and is the fourth fishing tragedy this year.
Storey said the west coast was a "high energy environment". "That also comes with increased risk."
There had been 40 drownings on the west coast since 1980. A third were people rock fishing.
Water Safety New Zealand expects this year's summer drowning toll to be high after 10 deaths in the 10 days between Christmas Eve and January 3.
That compares to two in the same period last summer.
Manager Matt Claridge said lifejackets should be part of regular fishing equipment.
"There are self-inflating jackets that are non-restrictive and not overly cumbersome. You pull a cord and they inflate."
The number of Pacific Islanders drowning was of particular concern.
"They seem to lack a knowledge of water safety and the ability to swim," said Claridge, who has organised a forum to address Pacific Island water safety in Auckland this week.
An Auckland University study last year found that Asian people were also over-represented.
West Coast Fishing Project author Kevin Moran said four out of five rock fishers who drowned in 2005/06 were of Asian decent.
Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death in New Zealand.
New Zealand's drowning rate is twice that of Australia's.
