Florida leads the nation in the number of recreational boats with over 1 million registered in 2022, according to a report released by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The state also leads the nation in boating-related deaths, according to the U.S. Coast Guard's annual report.
There were 32 fatal boating accidents in 2022, and 165 that caused injury, the FWC report said.
In the past five years, there have been 318 total boating deaths in Florida, according to a report by Captain Experiences.
The USCG reported that Florida's average boating accident rate nearly doubled that of the national average rate.
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Miami-Dade County holds the highest number of recreational vessels in Florida at 73,663. (See the full list below.)
The county had the second most boating accidents, primarily due to operator inexperience.
Monroe County has less than half as many recreational vessels as Miami-Dade yet leads the state in boating accidents.
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The majority of the 92 boating accidents in Monroe County were also caused by operator inexperience.
The primary type of accident across the top 10 counties with the highest number of boating accidents, except for Saint Johns County, was a collision with another vessel.
Boating accidents in Saint Johns County were primarily collisions with fixed objects.
The FWC reported that 81% of boating fatality victims were not wearing personal flotation devices, such as lifejackets. 53% of boating injury victims did not wear PFDs.
The majority of operators involved in boating accidents in Florida also did not receive boating education, the FWC reported.
Here's the full list of registered vessels by county:
- Miami-Dade County: 73,663
- Pinellas County: 53,657
- Lee County: 50,090
- Broward County: 45,493
- Hillsborough County: 41,671
- Palm Beach County: 37,638
- Orange County: 36,705
- Brevard County: 34,678
- Polk County: 31,824
- Pasco County: 29,629
- Volusia County: 27,809
- Duval County: 27,583
- Monroe County: 27,052
- Manatee County: 25,713
- Lake County: 24,023
- Collier County: 23,942
- Charlotte County: 23,828
- Sarasota County: 23,438
- Marion County: 21,690
The FWC advises boaters in Florida to ensure safe boating practices in several ways:
- Wear a lifejacket
- Enroll in a boating safety course
- Check the weather
- Register an emergency locator beacon
- Have a designated driver
- File a float plan
