Department of Marine Resources offers boating and water safety tips
Harrison County, Miss (WXXV)- With Spring Break knocking on the door, more boaters are expected to hit the waterways.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast is home to an abundance of waterways that allow for kayaking, fishing, jet skiing, and boating. With Spring Break inching closer, many are going to be out on the waterways creating fun memories. If you plan on operating a vessel during the Spring Break, you might want to pay extra attention.
Every year, we see an increase in water activities. We were able to catch up with the captain of Marine Patrol who shared how to have a safe and fun time on the water.
“The Mississippi Gulf Coast is a fun place to experience the water,” said Captain Michael Strickland. “For safety the basics, make sure that your vessel or personal watercraft is sea worthy and make sure it’s equipped with all the safety equipment that is required to operate that vessel on the waterways of Mississippi.”
Captain Strickland also gave us some safety tips in case of an onboard emergency.
“Make sure everyone on board has a personal floatation device for each person that’s going to be onboard the vessel. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher if you’re not able to remove the fuel tank and throw it in the water. If the vessel is over 16 ft it must have a type 4 throwable device. You must have a sound producing device and if you’re going to be in a body of water that’s greater than two miles wide, you must have a visual distress signal such as flares.”
There is also requirements boaters must meet before operating a vessel.
“Anybody born after June 30th and 1980 must attend or receive a boat and water safety certificate. That program needs to be approved by the MISSISSIPPI Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks and they must be in possession of that sort of like a drivers license. They must keep it on them on the vessel.”
If you plan on operating a boat while under the influence, you might want to think twice.
“Use common sense while you’re out there, pay attention to the weather. We see a little bit of uptick in the younger people during spring break. So familiarize yourself with the laws. Again that DMR.MS.GOV go to the regulations section there and there is a section on boat and water safety that really outlines the restrictions that apply specifically to Mississippi waterways. So familiarize yourself with the laws, watch your reckless and negligent behavior. Patrol is out there and we will be enforcing that and we know that when we remove alcohol, reckless and negligent behavior that boating accidents with injuries and boating accidents with fatalities specifically go down.”
