The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has begun increasing patrols on waterways ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Officer Lee Perry said, stopping boats to make sure people are following the law and carrying required equipment.
Perry said officers will check for lifejackets, fishing licenses, fire extinguishers and other required equipment and will stop boats and operators when they see violations. "If you’re going to have drinking involved in your plans, I highly recommend at least having a designated driver just so everything’s good, and nobody’s gonna get in trouble and to be safe out there on the water," he said.
The patrols come after a year that the agency recorded 138 boat-related incidents, 25 of them deadly, a record the commission says it is trying to avoid repeating. Perry warned that enforcement can carry criminal and civil consequences. "The consequences of driving while intoxicated could include going to jail, paying a $250 penalty fee, and more," he said.
The weekend campaign is not limited to docks and launches. Officials said the enforcement will include both on-the-road and water checks and is being run in partnership with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, with local sheriff and police departments also taking part.
Officers said they will stop more than careless boaters: they often stop people driving a boat while impaired and people riding a jet ski too close to the back of a boat. The agency emphasized that holiday weekends bring more water traffic, making checks more frequent and visible.
Lieutenant Anna Barbosa framed the campaign as an attempt to curb alcohol- and drug-related incidents across both roadways and waterways. "While the overall number of boating incidents investigated has been declining in recent years, last year we saw a troubling rise in fatal boating incidents," she said, noting the tension between longer-term downward trends in investigations and a spike in deadly outcomes.
Barbosa offered the latest snapshot of this year’s activity: through 2026 so far the commission has recorded 26 boating incident investigations, five of them fatal, with alcohol a factor in three of those fatal investigations. The figures underline why the commission is increasing visible enforcement over the holiday weekend.
The enforcement push aims to catch basic failures that can turn into tragedies — missing lifejackets, no properly stowed fire extinguishers, unlicensed anglers and operators who are impaired — while also sending a deterrent message on land, where deputies and state troopers will be checking drivers bound for boat ramps. Local partners will run checkpoints and combined patrols focused on preventing alcohol- and drug-related harm.
For boaters and families planning to be on North Carolina waters this weekend, the message from the commission is plain: expect to be stopped, expect checks, and expect penalties if officers find intoxicated operators or required equipment is missing. Perry’s short recommendation cut to the point: plan for a sober operator, and don’t risk the legal and human costs of boating while impaired.
