Water Safety New Zealand says the number of people who died from drowning last month - nine - is well down from the 23 who died in January last year.
In fact, it's the lowest figure for January since records began to be kept 30 years ago.
The authority's general manager, Matt Claridge, says it's an incredibly good result, considering that January is typically the worst month of the year for drowning deaths.
Most of the drownings last month occurred in the course of recreational activities like fishing, swimming, powerboating, rafting and river-crossing.
Mr Claridge says it's hard to say what caused the low figure but he hopes it's that people are paying more attention.
