Florida reported 694 boating accidents in 2025 as officials warned crowded waterways and unsafe boating behavior continue contributing to crashes statewide.

Most boating deaths aren’t caused by storms but simple mistakes. Here’s why overconfidence puts even experienced boaters at risk.

Florida’s increasingly crowded waterways had 694 “reportable” boating accidents in 2025, up from 685 in 2024, according to a state report released Monday.

Drowning was the leading cause of death, with most victims not wearing life jackets.

A new state report shows Florida recorded 694 reportable boating accidents in 2025, with officials pointing to increasingly congested waterways.

Personal watercraft were a notable slice of that danger, with 161 reported crashes and 12 deaths involving PWCs. Those figures come from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s latest Boating Accident Statistical Report,