Emergency radio beacons should be mandatory on fishing vessels in an effort to curb fatalities in Canada’s deadliest sector, a Senate committee said in a new report.
A Cospas-Sarsat-compatible emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) should be made mandatory on all commercial fishing vessels in Canada within two years, says a Canadian Senate study released Thursday that looks at Canada’s search and rescue system at sea.
“We believe the time has come. They are mandatory in other countries. It should be mandatory here,” said Sen. Jim Munson, a member of the Senate fisheries committee, which issued the report.
“We strongly believe EPIRBs will cut down, reduce the search time, but most importantly save lives,” committee chair Sen. Fabian Manning said at an Ottawa news conference.
Manning said the distress beacon is on board less than half the small and medium-size fishing vessels in Canada — the ones most likely to get into distress. The report said each EPIRB costs between $250 to $1,000.
“In this day and age, as we talk about where every life counts. The purchase of these distress signals, it’s not very much for a local fishermen, I don’t believe, or somebody working in a yacht or pleasure craft,” said Munson.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/fishing-emergency-beacons-senate-1.4925846