Marine Rescue NSW volunteers completed a record number of rescues in the 2022/23 financial year, with Lake Macquarie far outstripping the state's other regions in terms of calls for help.
According to new figures released on Wednesday, Lake Macquarie had 647 rescues during the period, while Port Stephens had 283 and Central Coast had 254.
Botany Port Hacking had the state's second highest number of rescues during the period at 359.
The organisation said rescue numbers across the state were at a record high, eclipsing the previous highest number by 7.5 per cent - a record set in 2020/21.
Emergency responses across NSW were up 12 per cent in 2022/23 compared with 2020/21.
"Our volunteers safely returned over 10,000 boaters to shore during the 22/23 financial year," commissioner Alex Barrell said.
"Their commitment to keeping boaters safe on NSW waterways and in some cases during extremely challenging conditions has been exemplary."
Many of those who needed rescuing were fishing, the service said, with mechanical failure, flat batteries and empty fuel tanks among the most common reasons people needed help.
Commissioner Barrell said Marine Rescue NSW experienced its busiest June on record with 315 rescues, a third of which were emergency situations.
The Hunter/Central Coast's Lake Macquarie unit was the busiest in NSW with 41 rescue missions last month while the Botany Port Hacking unit was involved in 26, making it the busiest of the Greater Sydney units.
Port Kembla was the busiest of the Illawarra units with 11 rescue missions, the Ballina unit had the most demand on the Northern Rivers with 10, Batemans Bay led the six Monaro units with 10 while the Port Macquarie unit had nine rescue missions on the Mid North Coast.
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