HOWARD, Wis. — When Gaven Brault receives a call for a boat-related incident, a series of questions race through his mind.

“How bad is it? What’s going on and is everybody OK?” the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Conversation Warden asked. “If there’s a boat accident there could be an injury becuase there aren’t seatbelts or airbags in a boat. You never know how bad it could be and what they hit.”

Luckily, the situations he’s handledso far have been minor, but the potential for a serious incident exists.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), 22 people died in the state in boating accidents last year, and more people are turning to the water for recreation. That’s why Brault and others are touting safety reminders as summer gets underway.

“There are just a lot of new boaters,” he said. “It’s having to remind them of the rules in general, the rules and regulations of the water with personal flotation devices, boat lights and the operator safety course.”

LT. Darren Kuhn, the DNR's boating safety administrator, says state law requires things like well-fitting lifejackets for everyone on board, use of lights when its dark and designated captains if alcohol is being consumed.

“People not having enough life jackets in their boat is one of our highest citation numbers that we have statewide,” Kuhn said. “It’s absolutely [astounding] to me with the fact this isn’t a new law.”

It’s part of the reason the agency encourages boaters to take the state’s online operator safety course, something required of people born in 1989 or later.

“We’re seeing more of the ‘I didn’t know that’ compared to the blatant violations,” Kuhn said.

Out on the water, Brault said he sees his job as a mix of education and enforcement.

“We’re not out there to just hammer people with citations, we’re actually trying to be nice and help them,” he said. “We want everyone to be safe and have fun.”