By Randy Zellers

LITTLE ROCK — Seventeen people lost their lives while boating in The Natural State last year, the most recorded in a single year since 2009, according to the recently released 2025 Year-End Boating Accident Report compiled by Sgt. Sydney Grant, boating law administrator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The number of boating accidents also rose to 73, the most since 2020.

Grant says increases in boating accidents by duck hunters as well as hazardous conditions last spring on many streams and rivers from flooding were contributors to the peaks in accidents and fatalities last year.

“We had a lot of water and current in most of our streams and rivers from heavy rains,” Grant said. “So conditions were not good for people who weren’t familiar with navigating those conditions in those exact areas. Nine vessels involved in the 73 total accidents in the state were rented, including some on trout streams during those floods. This further indicates a level of operator inexperience with their craft and the setting. Forty-one of the 88 operators had more than 100 hours of experience boating, but that doesn’t mean they had experience with the craft they were piloting at the time of the accident or the conditions they faced.”

Grant explained that even experienced operators can misjudge the power of flowing water and its ability to pin a boat, or a person, to obstructions with thousands of pounds of force. When people make plans for a weekend trip and conditions aren’t favorable, some still choose to go forward with their float, which can lead to accidents and scary situations.

“It only takes a moment or two to get into a situation that is nearly impossible to pull yourself free from, so the main message is to be respectful of moving water and know your limits,” Grant said.

Grant also sees a concerning trend in the greater number of boating accidents related to hunting, particularly duck hunting.

“In 2024, we saw five reported boating accidents involving duck hunters, but that increased to 11 accidents in 2025, including one fatality,” Grant said.

The nature of the type of boating seen during duck season already intensifies the need for greater awareness, but hunters appear to be exceeding the limits of safe handling more regularly in the duck woods.

“You’re already boating during a low-visibility time of day, and you’re driving through flooded forests with stumps and hidden hazards,” Grant said. “Add in the competitive nature many of our newer hunters are engaging in, and some of our hunters are going way too fast for the conditions.”

It wasn’t only younger boaters involved in accidents, either.

“The age of operators involved in accidents averaged 44 years old, and operators involved in fatalities averaged 53,” Grant said. “This hammers home the importance of boater education, no matter how old you are.”

Motorboats made up a large portion of the vessel types involved in last year’s boating accidents, but pontoon boats, personal watercraft like Jet Skis and WaveRunners, kayaks, canoes and even stand-up paddleboards were all recorded in at least one boating accident. Only 33 percent of boaters involved in an accident were wearing a life jacket, and nearly half of those people were required to be wearing one because of their age or the type of vessel they were riding. Only one of the 17 victims of a fatal accident was wearing a life jacket, and none of the victims who died from drowning were wearing one at the time of their accident.

“Overall life jacket wear rate actually increased slightly in 2025, but we still have a long way to go,” Grant said.