A 38-year-old man has died while diving for scallops off the Tasman Peninsula.
The man, from Oyster Cove in Tasmania's southeast, was diving in Wedge Bay at White Beach, west of Port Arthur, on Sunday morning.
Police were called to a boat ramp at the beach about 9.40am after the man got into trouble and his friends had to pull him to the surface.
First responders performed "extensive" CPR but he died at the scene, police said.
Tasmania Police Acting Inspector Justin Lawson said the man was with friends who were also recreational divers.
He and one of his friends were diving in about 15m of water and using hookah equipment, which allowed compressed air to be pumped down to a diver.
"This gentleman was diving in the first dive of the day with another friend of his," Insp Lawson told reporters.
"One diver came to the surface.
"You can retrieve someone if they're in trouble (using hookah equipment) and that's what happened."
The man's diving experience will form part of the police investigation.
The area was a popular diving spot so other boats may have been around at the time, Insp Lawson said.
The death was the fourth diving-related fatality in Tasmania in 2024.
"There's a certain level of fitness that attaches to diving," Insp Lawson said.
"If you've got a health condition, diving can actually complicate things far more."
The man's family was notified of his death, which police were treating as an accident.
Officers will prepare a report for the coroner.
Australian Associated Press
