Boating safety remains a constant concern for areas of coastal North Carolina

Tyrrell County and the surrounding area is no exception.

Boating accidents must reported to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission if the accident results in one or more of the following:

-loss of life
-a person loses consciousness or receives medical treatment, or is disabled for more than twenty-four hours.
– actual physical damage to property(including vessels)is in excess of 20,000
-a person disappears from the vessel under circumstances that indicate death or injury.

Official statistics listed from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission from 2012 indicate 151 accidents out of 309,489 registered boats. 23 of the accidents were fatal.

“These statistics are analyzed to aid in determining the direction of measures to deter boating accidents,” says Gordon Myer,Eexecutive Director of the North Carolian Wildlife Resources Commission in the 2012 report on Boating Accidents and Fatalities.

Jim Schreckengost, is the Wildlife Enforcement Officer for Tyrrell County.He noted that Tyrrell County has been fortunate in most respects in regards to boating safety.

“We have not had very many accidents around here. The ones we have had have been relatively minor,” he said.

Schreckengost noted the fact that people in the Tyrrell County area have grown up around the water as one of the contributing factors connected to the lack of boating accidents.

“If you go over to the beach where people from out of state rent jet skis, there are lot of boating accidents over there,” he explained

Schreckengost gave out wearing a personal floatation device and paying to attention to changes in weather patterns as some safety tips that everyone on the water could observe.

People can sign up for boating safety classes on the Internet or take Internet-base boating safety classes. The instructor and Internet-based course include certificates upon completion.

People under the age of 26 have to have a boater’s safety certification card.

Children under the age of 13 must wear a PFD or life-jacket anytime the boat is in motion, not tied to the shore, or not tied at anchor.

“A lot of folks miss out on that one, and they end up in a little bit of a tight spot over that,”  Schreckengost pointed out.

Bodies of water by Tyrrell County include the Alligator River, Albemarle Sound, and the Scuppernong River