The dangers of undertaking activities in and around water during the summer holidays have been highlighted after a series of tragedies.
Annabelle Ewing, Minister for Community Safety, warned about the potential dangers at beaches, lochs and rivers as she visited Aberdeen Lifeboat Station.
She also viewed new signage installed at Aberdeen beach by Water Safety Scotland.
Ms Ewing said: "Scotland's beaches, rivers and lochs are among our finest natural resources and everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy them, particularly in warmer weather when the sun's out.
"However, as we have seen on a number of occasions in recent weeks, water can be very dangerous.
"Whether it's sailing, swimming, diving or fishing, anyone undertaking recreational activities in and around water must be aware of the risks and take every possible precaution."
Her visit to the area followed the death of Ali Ahmed, 19, of east London, whose body was recovered from the Falls of Bruar, a beauty spot near Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross, on Thursday.
A young man's body was also recovered from Loch Lomond after he got into difficulty in the water last Wednesday.
Michael Avril, RNLI community incident reduction manager, said: "Thirty people lost their lives around the coast of Scotland in 2016, with over half, 57%, of those being people who didn't even intend to enter the water.
"As part of our national drowning prevention campaign Respect the Water we're asking people to 'fight your instincts, not the water' to help stay alive if they fall into the water."
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