CEDAR HILL, Texas—Roland Paredez said that when he’s out in his boat, everyone—even the black Labrador puppy—wears a life jacket.

His safety-minded outlook is one officials wish more Texans would adopt.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, game wardens are stepping up patrols on lakes across the state, looking out for unsafe and illegal behavior on the water.

Nationwide, boating fatalities decreased last year everywhere but Texas, where 52 people died in boating-related accidents, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. It was the highest number of boating fatalities since 2002.

So far this year there have been 23 boating fatalities in Texas, seven fewer than the same time last year. But Maj. Alfonso Campos, the state agency’s chief of marine enforcement, said it’s too early to make any favorable comparisons or predict whether the drop is a trend that will continue.

J“People need to take a boating safety course for sure,” said Paredez, 44, adding that he’s encountered too many careless people passing too close or simply not paying attention.

With the boost in patrols over the weekend, game wardens will be busy. Texas has about 4,900 square miles of inland water—more than any of the 48 continental states, followed by Minnesota, Florida and Louisiana.

Campos noted that Texas’ size and population could be one of the factors contributing to the number of fatalities, but authorities still report a jump in fatal accidents during big summer holidays, when more people are apt to be out partying.

In addition to wearing a life jacket and closely monitoring friends and family members in the water, authorities suggest that boaters have a “designated driver,” someone who won’t be drinking when alcohol is consumed on the watercraft.

Parks and Wildlife officials note that alcohol is involved in one-third of all boating fatalities. A person arrested for boating while intoxicated may be jailed up to 180 days and/or fined as much as $2,000.