Additional enforcement will be back on the water this summer.
The Electoral Area Advisory Committee is working on the 2016 schedule for conservation officers to provide extra patrols of Sugar, Mabel and Kalamalka lakes, as well as the Shuswap River.
“It creates a lot of awareness,” said director Herman Halvorson.
Determining the schedule includes looking at the best days and times for patrols.
“We want to get the best bang for our dollar,” said Halvorson.
“Long weekends are usually the best time because the most people are out then.”
A possible addition to the patrols could be Swan Lake.
“I want to see if there are any issues out there,” said director Bob Fleming.
“I’m not aware of any but there is a lot of activity out there.”
In 2015, conservation officers issued 71 tickets during their patrols, while 229 warning tickets were handed out. Twenty-six boats were removed from the water for safety reasons.
There was a non-compliance rate of 74 per cent, including not having life jackets and an operator’s license not being present.
Last year, there were four patrols on Sugar Lake, five on Mabel Lake, five on Mara Lake and the Shuswap River and three on Kalamalka Lake (Cosens Bay).
There could be more patrols on Kal Lake this year as Coldstream is contributing to the program, along with the electoral areas.
