KEY POINTS:
An Auckland father-of-eight would probably still be alive today if he had worn his lifejacket while retrieving a fishing net from rough seas, the chief coroner has said.
Palu Siua was last seen clinging to a lifejacket after his fishing boat was swamped by waves in February. His cousin, who was wearing a lifejacket, managed to swim to safety but Mr Siua's body was found floating in the sea four days later.
Judge Neil MacLean ruled this week that the 40-year-old labourer had died from drowning in a "situation that sadly is all too common" in recreational fishing.
"The clear lesson to be learnt is that lifejackets should be worn and it's not sufficient to simply have them in the boat or close by because, when emergencies strike, it's too late to use them to their full efficiency."
Mr Siua and Robert Motuliki had gone to Okoromai Bay on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula on February 16 to go fishing.
It was an area that Mr Siua, an experienced recreational fisherman and good swimmer, had gone to many times before to fish.
The cousins launched their 3.6m aluminium boat in rough conditions at 9pm and set their net offshore before returning to sleep in their car.
They woke at 2am and relaunched the boat to retrieve the net. By this time, the conditions had deteriorated with a strong wind blowing.
Inquest officer Senior Constable Paul Herman said the men managed to get the net but debated the safest way to return to shore under the conditions.
Mr Siua wanted to go around a point but his cousin felt it was too rough. "As they rounded the headland, they were met by several large waves, each of which swamped their boat," said Mr Herman. "After taking on too much water, the vessel sank quickly."
Mr Motuliki was wearing his lifejacket when the boat went down but his cousin, who had waders on, was not.
Mr Siua was seen trying to remove his waders and holding a lifejacket but he is not believed to have put it on and was about 30m behind his cousin as they tried to swim to shore.
Mr Siua was last heard yelling to Mr Motuliki: "Get to the shore, don't worry about me."
When Mr Motuliki got to safety, he raised the alarm and a search was launched.
Mr Siua's waders and lifejacket were found on the coastline but it was four days before his body was found floating in the water by a relative. The family had kept a constant vigil at the beach until he was found.
A relative, Malia Hamani, said Mr Siua was a good swimmer who went fishing on a regular basis but usually went alone. "This was a rare occasion when he was with someone. He went out at least once a week so this is most unfortunate."
She said Mr Siua would be remembered as a family person.
What happened
Palu Siua and his cousin, Robert Motuliki, were returning from a fishing trip off Whangaparaoa Peninsula when their boat was swamped.
Mr Siua was not wearing a lifejacket and did not make it back to shore.
