Diving and snorkelling have become priority activities
for Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) to monitor, due to
the increasing prevalence of drowning deaths in coastal
waters. Since 2004, SLSA has recorded 135 diving and 206
snorkelling deaths, of which 74 diving and 138 snorkelling
deaths were due to drowning. However, in recent years the
annual numbers of deaths recorded have been above the
16-year average.
The 2020 Diving and Snorkelling coastal safety brief
presents the trends in Australian drowning deaths and
fatalities of divers and snorkellers. The snorkelling data
explores drowning deaths and other fatalities (i.e. those
due to other causal factors such as medical issues),
including recreational sightseeing snorkellers, freedivers,
spearfishers and abalone harvesters, where snorkelling
was the primary activity. Similarly, the diving data
explores drowning deaths and deaths from other causes
in divers.
