State Minister for Sport & Events Nick Duigan has joined surf lifesavers to launch to 2024/25 patrol season ahead of the red and yellow flags being raised on Tasmania's beaches tomorrow.

The season launch comes amid calls for beachgoers to make coastal safety a priority following a season which saw a disappointing increase in coastal fatalities.

Ten coastal drowning deaths occurred in 2023/24, a 70 percent increase compared to the 10-year average in Tasmania. The figures related to the highest mortality rate relative to the population of any state or territory in the country.

Critically, 90% of these fatalities occurred more than 1km from a patrolled beach, emphasising the need for beachgoers to swim between the flags.

"Tasmania has some of the best beaches in the country which also means we have some of the best beaches anywhere in the world, and we want everyone to enjoy their time in the surf and on the sand this summer," said Tony van den Enden, Surf Life Saving Tasmania CEO. "However we can't ignore the statistics which show a disproportionate number of rescues and fatalities occurred last season across our state.

"Our wonderful volunteers are incredible at what they do but they simply cannot be everywhere, so we encourage everyone to swim between the red and yellow flags."

The season launch comes after last week's launch of the national water safety campaign asking beachgoers to ‘Stop. Look. Stay Alive’, aimed at getting people to make safety a priority when visiting the coastline this summer.

As part of the campaign, SLSA has also teamed up with Qantas to unveil a new virtual training platform for the community called 'Beach Passport'.

Beach Passport is a mobile or online course that will provide the public with basic water safety knowledge. It will be free and available to every Australian citizen and visitor and is available at beachpassport.org.au.

To find your nearest patrolled beach, visit beachsafe.org.au or download the BeachSafe app from the App Store or Google Play.