A coroner's recommendation to make life jackets compulsory, after the drowning death of a Dunedin man just metres from safety, may be difficult to enforce, the Otago Regional Council says.
Coroner Richard McElrea yesterday released his findings into the death of Robert ''Bob'' Wilfred Clearwater (75), who died while net fishing with his 80-year-old brother Brian at Papanui Inlet about 2pm on January 29 last year.
Mr McElrea found Mr Clearwater, who could not swim, drowned after his 3.6m dinghy overturned in the tidal estuary.
The report quoted Senior Constable Lox Kellas, of Portobello, saying the tragedy occurred in a narrow channel, and ''a few strong strokes would have got him to either shore''.
Mr McElrea's report said there were three main factors in the death, ''namely Mr Clearwater was a non-swimmer, was not wearing a life jacket or personal flotation device, and was wearing gumboots''.
''This was an avoidable drowning.''
The drowning highlighted the issue of using life jackets at all times in small craft under 6m.
Mr McElrea noted work being done by Maritime New Zealand and the Ministry of Transport on the feasibility of a single national rule for life jackets in recreational craft.
But he recommended the ORC ''in the meantime considers as a priority the adoption of a bylaw requiring the compulsory wearing of life jackets on small craft under 6m'' in all waters it controls.
ORC chief executive Peter Bodeker responded yesterday the council was about to begin reviewing its harbour bylaws.
The council had a role as harbourmaster for the harbours, rivers and lakes of Otago.
''When we review them over the next six to nine months, we will consider the coroner's recommendation with respect to the compulsory wearing of life jackets,'' Mr Bodeker said.
But while such a rule may become part of the harbour bylaw, ''if we put it into our bylaw, the big question that we've got as a regional council is how do we administer it?''.
''I'm sitting in my office right now looking at a big chunk of the upper harbour; there's not one person out there from a recreational point of view.
''Do I have a bloke putting around in a boat inspecting?''
He said it could be possible to have a bylaw with minimal enforcement, or with enforcement on weekends and public holidays, ''Any bylaw we put in, it's more than just putting a condition in.
''The obvious thing is how do we administer and enforce it?''
Any cost for enforcement would be borne by ratepayers, as boats were not registered, and it would be ''very difficult'' to collect revenue any other way from recreational water users.
He said once the bylaw was reviewed the resulting report would go to the council, then be put out for public consultation.
Mr McElrea's report said at some point Mr Clearwater stood up in the boat, causing it to tip over, dumping both men into the sea.
No alcohol was detected in his blood, and the boat had no damage or defects that contributed to it capsizing.
