Richard Hepi Tautari, of Invercargill, died on December 30, 2017 at Kawakaputa Bay, near Colac Bay in Southland as a result of drowning.
He was freediving for paua. He had dived there previously and knew the area.
In a summary of a May decision, released yesterday, coroner David Robinson found Mr Tautari entered the water and began snorkelling for paua while his partner, a Ms Brown, watched from the shoreline.
After 20 minutes, Ms Brown noticed Mr Tautari was not moving.
She became concerned and asked a member of the public, a Mr McMaster, to check on him.
Mr McMaster swam towards Mr Tautari and realised he was floating face down in the water.
Mr McMaster returned to shore and called emergency services.
Other members of the public assisted in recovering Mr Tautari’s body to shore, where he was confirmed dead by emergency services.
The police national dive squad conducted an inquiry to determine any factors that might have contributed to Mr Tautari’s death.
It did not consider the weather conditions, equipment or any pre-existing health conditions contributed and concluded his decision to dive alone, an unsafe practice, contributed to his death.
Mr Robinson said the squad’s advice for freedivers, offered in a previous case, applied.
That was to always dive with a buddy, and constantly monitor each other and employ a one-up, one-down system; to constantly review and adjust their weight in relation to the diving being conducted, ideally, freedivers should manage their weight, to maintain a neutral hover point in the water approximately 30-40% of the depth to which they will dive; and to use a quick release belt buckle.
It was not recommended to freedive alone, however, if freediving alone, it was recommended that the diver be marked or tethered to a surface float to show their approximate position underwater.
If that was not possible, then at the very least the diver should always have someone on the surface actively watching movement, and able to assist.
Divers should abandon their weights when they start to get into difficulty; should not make themselves hyperventilate before free diving; and should know their limitations, and not take any unnecessary risks.
His findings would be provided to Water Safety New Zealand and to the editors of Dive New Zealand magazine for dissemination, Mr Robinson said.
