Rock fishing is one of Australia's most dangerous sports, with the deaths of two fishermen in NSW in the last few days.
On Monday, a 27-year-old angler died after being pulled from the water at Gymea Bay, in Sydney's south.
It came a day after a 20-year-old fisherman narrowly escaped drowning after falling from rocks on the city's southern coast line
Three fishermen had been pulled from waters on Sydney's northern beaches after they were taken in rough swells.
Two of the men were wearing lifejackets and survived.
The third, a 23-year-old Thai national, was not wearing a lifejacket, and drowned.
Andy Kent, Operations Manager at Surf Living Saving New South Wales is calling for mandatory life jackets for rock fishermen across New South Wales.
"Rock fishing deaths, every death, no one has had a life jacket. We believe compulsory life jackets would decrease the drowning toll," he said.
Sydney's coastline. Source: SBS
Most of the deaths while rock fishing in Australia occur in NSW, where an average of eight people die every year.
Mandatory life jackets for rock fishermen across the state were recommended in 2015 after a coronial inquest into nine rock fishing-related deaths between July 2012 and February 2015.
Mr Kent says rock fishers are often located away from patrolled areas, making rescue efforts more difficult.
"It means it takes lifesavers, lifeguards, police, marine rescue extra time to get to them, so the main idea behind life jackets is to keep your head above water so you can float, and gives rescuers time - if you do happen to fall in the water - to come around and help you and rescue you."
Last December, a one-year trial of compulsory life jackets in Sydney's Randwick local council region began.
NSW Police Minister for Emergency Services, Troy Grant, says the trial will assess whether making life vests mandatory will reduce the number of rock fishing deaths along the coastline.
"The trial is focused on if and when these vests become compulsory, where and how they can be policed, how they can be enforced," he said.
Sunday's death of a Thai national has led to calls better beach safety measures for people whose first language isn't English.
"Domestic tourists as well, it's not necessarily new immigrants," Mr Kent said.
"It's more, English may not be their first language but they certainly are Australian residents, which is something we have to work on, the whole community has to work on.
It's something Mr Grant says the NSW government is committed to.
"I've convened a stakeholder group, where we will be having an annual forum to access the circumstances around the spike in drowning that we had over the Christmas period, that will help inform what we do and how we respond to the summer period that comes up in the spring.
"Signage in different languages is something we are considering as part of the trial."
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