Tasmania has seen a significant drop in boating fatalities since the state made life jackets compulsory in 2001, new data shows.
According to Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST), 146 people lost their lives in boating incidents in the 23 years leading up to the life jacket mandate, a number that has since dropped to 63.
MAST recreational boating manager Peter Hopkins said that while an improvement, even one fatality is too many.
“Boating fatalities have come down but we’ve got to do more to ensure that people aren’t losing their lives while they’re out recreationally boating,” he said.
Hopkins attributed the majority of fatalities to “poor decision-making”, noting that around half occurred on weekends and most in cold waters under 15 degrees.
Males account for the vast majority of deaths, with 61 men and two women losing their lives on the water in the past two decades.
“We read coroner’s reports, we analyse the coroner’s reports, we speak to people. I think a lot of the time just poor decisions are made at the time and unfortunately as a result somebody’s lost their life in a boating tragedy,” he said.
“A large number of our fatalities are from fishing. People [whose] main aim that particular day was to go pull in a cray pot or go fishing and unfortunately there’s been a tragedy.”
Tasmania became the first state or jurisdiction in the world to introduce compulsory lifejacket regulations for boats six metres and under in 2001.
Several other mainland states have since followed suit, including New Zealand.
“We’ve set the scene and those other jurisdictions that have introduced compulsory wearing have also seen fatalities drop. So we think it’s the way to go,” Hopkins said.
The life jacket compliance rate is estimated to be around 94% on boats six metres and under.
Hopkins said the most concerning statistic was an increase in fatalities among people boating alone.
“What we have seen since 2012 is an increase in older people boating alone, especially in colder water,” he said.
“[They] are subject to losing their lives in boating incidents, particularly if they’re getting in and out of tenders.”
Of the 63 fatalities since 2001, 54 occurred in saltwater and nine in freshwater lakes or rivers.
28 incidents involved capsized boats, 10 cases were due to people falling into the water, 31 deaths were related to fishing, nine to cruising and four to kayaking.
