Tag Archives: EPIRB’s
Commercial fishing deaths in Canada hit 20-year high
Despite improvements in safety training and awareness, commercial fishing remains one of the most dangerous professions in Canada. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada reports that 45 workers died between 2018 and 2020, the highest three-year total in 20 years. And fishing safety has been on the board’s watchlist of important safety matters since 2010. But fishing fatalities are preventable. The Transportation Safety Board also reports that 29 workers died between 2015 and 2021 after their boats capsized or sank without personal floatation devices or distress-alerting devices. “You’ve got to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, and that’s where we see that they’re not prepared,” said Glenn Budden. >click to read< 19:03
EPIRBs: Emergency radio beacons coming for small fishing vessels in southern Labrador
The Labrador Fishermen’s Union Shrimp Company is outfitting dozens of vessels between Cartwright and L’Anse au Clair that are under 40 feet and harvesting for them. The move comes less than a year after two fishermen died near Mary’s Harbour and shortly following a Transportation Safety Board report into the loss of the FV Sarah Anne in Placentia Bay. The devices transmit signals to a satellite, which alerts search and rescue services in case of an emergency at sea and allows them to pinpoint the beacon’s location. Linstead said the company’s board brought the idea forward after the fishermen were concerned about recent accidents. > click to read < 13:48
NOAA Satellites Helped Save Record 421 Lives in 2019: Registered Emergency Beacons Proven to Save Lives
Of the 421 U.S. rescues last year, 306 were water rescues, 38 were from aviation incidents and 77 were from events on land, where PLBs were used. Florida had the most SARSAT rescues with more than 100, followed by Alaska with more than 50. The previous rescue record of 353 (total) was set in 2007. When a NOAA satellite pinpoints the location of a distress signal in the U.S., the information is relayed to the SARSAT Mission Control Center at NOAA’s Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland. From there,,, >click to read< 14:21
New safety gear needed for P.E.I. lobster fishermen, but supply comes up short
P.E.I. lobster fishermen will have some new safety gear on board when the spring lobster season opens at the end of April. At least, they are supposed to, after new federal safety rules came into effect last July. But the new fishery safety standards affect more than 22,000 Canadian boats and that has left many fishermen scrambling to get the gear they need. Under the new Transport Canada regulations unveiled in 2016, fishing vessels are required to have specific safety gear on board, including a life raft, survival suits and a location signaling device. >click to read< 18:10
