Kavinda Herath/Stuff
A fisherman was reportedly swept off the rocks at Slope Point, Southland on Tuesday. A man’s body was found following an extensive search. (File photo)
A body has been found after a fisherman was reportedly swept off the rocks at Slope Point, Southland.
Police were called to the incident about 2.20pm on Tuesday, sparking an extensive search involving teams from Land SAR, Bluff and Riverton Coastguard, Helicopters Otago and a commercial fishing boat which was nearby, a police spokesperson said.
A man’s body was located in the water a short time after, they said.
“The man’s family have been notified, and police are offering them support.”
Local iwi had placed a rāhui for seven days from Tuesday, between Haldane Estuary and Waipapa Creek, the spokesperson said.
Slope Point is accessed via a privately maintained walk across farmland. Parts of the coastline are very rugged and inaccessible on foot.
It was not the first time fishermen had run into trouble in the area.
Kavinda Herath/Stuff
It was not the first time fishermen in the area have run into trouble in the area. Pictured is a search from 2019 after two men went missing near Slope Point. (File photo)
Hendrix Kamo, 28 of Riversdale, and Shaun Orchard, 23 of Tapanui, were fishing at Black Point on the south Catlins coast on January 27, 2019 when their shouts alerted other people in their group that they were in the sea.
Although a search was conducted, they were not found. Last year, deputy chief Coroner Anna Tutton ruled the men died of presumed drowning.
In the report, Tutton endorsed Water Safety New Zealand’s information about safety while rock fishing.
It included wearing a life jacket, paying particular attention to the swell and tide and never fishing in exposed areas during rough or large seas.
In October 2018, the bodies of two men were recovered near Purakaunui Bay, about 77km north of Slope Point, after they did not return from a paua diving trip.
