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Our research looked at risk factors for surf rescue and found a very clear trend: every swimmer outside of the flagged patrol area is almost ten times more likely to need rescuing than the swimmers between the flags. Let that sink in. Doesn’t matter who you are. Doesn’t matter how crowded it is between the flags. Ten times more likely to need rescuing.

How do beachgoers evaluate risk? To answer that question, we used a unique multidisciplinary database combining beachgoer surveys, marine and weather data and lifeguard hazard assessments to examine beachgoer’s risk perception at La Lette Blanche, a beach in southwest France.

Our research into risk-taking behaviour associated with social media use shows the harmful repercussions of social media use do not only happen online, or just affect mental health. There are many real physical risks that stem from social media use, particularly for children and young people.

From late February into March drowning deaths stayed high right across the country with a spate of coastal drowning deaths in Tasmania, Victoria, NSW, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia.

Researchers have analysed data about surfers performing bystander rescues in France and found more than half those surveyed have rescued people in distress, saving hundreds of lives.

Cleaning up the ocean and working to prevent drowning have topped a list of surfers’ funding priorities, reflecting the health issues which are most likely to affect them in the waves.