It’s Memorial Day Weekend, which means far more boaters than normal will be on the water — and so will the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission’s marine law enforcement officers.
That’s no coincidence. Nor is it by chance that this is the time of year the FWC’s annual Florida Boating Accident Statistical Report is issued with the newest facts and figures available.
More often than not, those numbers are not good.
Florida’s waters are home to the most boats in the country, and year after year, the same reasons lead to tragedy on the water.
Memorial Day Weekend has become when the state’s fish and wildlife commission steps up enforcement on the water, education in their report, and the National Safe Boating Week comes to an extended end over the holiday weekend.
The hope is that the weekend with the most people on the water is the same one when the most people can learn how to boat safely. Because the tragic numbers in the boating accident report may be the easiest to change.
Data shows most captains don’t have formal boater education, which would teach them to have a spotter within earshot watching everything else so the captain can focus on boating zones where he or she needs to motor slower, evading the reckless actions of others, and making sure there is nothing straight ahead like a dock, another vessel, or a seawall.
The spotter is necessary so the captain can focus while the lookout takes care of anything else of concern, such as ensuring the passengers know “wearing” a life jacket does not mean hanging it over the shoulders, loose, flapping in the breeze.
“Accidents happen quickly and without warning. You may not have time to grab your life jacket”, said Nicholas Korade, a Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission lieutenant who focuses on safe boating. "The message is simple: Life jackets save lives.”
Like most years, the Florida Boating Accident Statistical Report assembled in 2024 is filled with charts, graphs, and other quick snippets of information – usually bad news:
- There were 685 boating accidents in Florida — 26 more than in the previous report
- 81 fatalities were reported — 22 more than the previous year
- Collision with a fixed object caused 31% of the accidents, more than any other reason
- At least 65% of those at the helm during fatal accidents had no formal boater training
“We just want people to enjoy the outdoors, enjoy the beautiful waters of the State of Florida,” said Col. Brian Smith, Director of the FWC Division of Law Enforcement. “Always ensure you're operating in a safe and reasonable manner. And, of course, make sure you have the appropriate safety equipment on board your vessel.”
The FWC, the state’s lead agency on boating education and law enforcement, issued more than 74,000 cards that prove the person passed their boating safety education course, which is roughly 1,000 more than the previous year.
People born on or after January 1, 1988, who operate a vessel powered by 10 horsepower or more are required to pass an approved boater safety course.
National Safe Boating Week technically ends just before Memorial Day, but the message of the week extends at least through the holiday weekend. Led by the National Safe Boating Council, the focus is on reducing water-related accidents.
Plus, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary adds to the help by offering boating safety courses.
Boating safety
The boating council focuses on encouraging boaters to always have the required safety gear in working order, especially life jackets — and be wearing them whenever in the boat, even at the dock.
Fish and wildlife reported that most of those who died were involved in alcohol-related crashes with other boats, a seawall, or a channel marker, thrown from their vessel, and drowned because they weren’t wearing a life jacket.
The number of boating accidents, on average, was the lowest in five years, but the number of boating deaths was the highest in four years.
FWC compiles the report, a summary of which can be found here, and issues it about 18 months after the end of the year being highlighted — in this case, 2023’s numbers are in the 2024 report that came out in 2025.
“We just really want everybody to be safe on the water this weekend and throughout the summer holidays,” Smith said. “The FWC will be present, too, providing for public safety.”
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by Volo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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