Officials with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission say that safety should be a top priority when recreating on water. The agency has responded to numerous boating incidents that resulted in drownings in the past few weeks. These incidents may have been avoided if life jackets were worn, stated a WRC press release.

“We cannot stress how important it is for you to wear a personal floatation device, or PFD, while boating, whether it be recreating, swimming or fishing,” said Capitan Branden Jones with the Wildlife Commission. “In 2021, 23 people lost their lives on North Carolina waters; 16 of them were not wearing a life vest. PFDs save lives, but they won’t work if you don’t wear them.”

New and novice boaters are urged to take the following precautions to ensure friends and family remain safe on the water:

Vessel owners should also be aware of a new fire extinguisher law relevant to disposable fire extinguishers with a date of manufacture stamped on the bottle.

“If the date stamp is older than 12 years, it’s now considered expired and must be removed from service and replaced with a 5-B or 20-B date stamped extinguisher,” Jones said. “Having a serviceable fire extinguisher is an imperative safety measure.”

Details about the new fire extinguisher law can be found on the agency’s blog at bit.ly/3wSWWws and additional information about boating laws and safety can be found at ncwildlife.org/boating .

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