AZGFD to hold life jacket exchange at Martinez Lake
The Arizona Game and Fish Department will hold a life jacket exchange event in Yuma County for the first time next month at Martinez Lake.
The state has hosted these events in other communities with an active recreational boating scene for a decade, and is hoping to mark this anniversary year with a record-setting 1,700 old jackets exchanged for new.
“In addition to exchanging more life jackets than ever before, this year we have been excited to hold the events in new locations throughout Arizona,” said Josh Hoffman, boating safety education coordinator for AZGFD.
“This will be our first life jacket exchange in Yuma, and it’s a great opportunity to allow as many Arizonans as possible to ensure they have a new life jacket that fits properly,” he said.
The Martinez Lake event will be held 8 to 10 a.m. August 25. Type I and II life jackets, which are worn over the neck instead of around the back like a regular jacket, will not be accepted.
Eight hundred and fifty of the buoyant, life-preserving jackets have been turned in to the department so far this year, with the donor getting a brand-new one in return.
Life jackets, also known as personal flotation devices, are required under state law for all passengers ages 12 and under while aboard a watercraft, and a U.S. Coast Guard-approved, properly fitting device must be available for all other passengers onboard to use.
More information on life jackets and other water safety topics is available at www.azgfd.com/Education/Boating, including a video on how to fit a child with one.
Life jacket exchange events will also be held Saturday in Bullhead City and Lake Pleasant, and on Aug. 25 at Lake Havasu City.