Safety first
Senate committee recommends emergency radio beacons be mandatory on fishing vessels
Increasing numbers of fatalities in the Canadian fishing industry, has prompted a Senate committee to recommend fishing vessels be equipped with emergency position-indicating radio beacons (EPIRB).
Last week, the Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans made several recommendations, including equipping fishing vessels with EPIRBs to allow for better response times in search and rescue operations.
In Canada, there have been 17 fatalities in the fishing industry this year, at least four of which occurred in P.E.I. waters.
“If your boat were to sink or capsize, an EPIRB automatically sends a signal to a search and rescue station letting rescuers know immediately of a distress call,” said Pierre Murray, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) regional operations manager for Atlantic Canada, specializing in marine search and rescue. Murray has been an investigator with TSB for 26 years. He said, based on his experience, EPIRBs are a necessary safety precaution on fishing vessels.
“Over the years, the TSB has recommended making the equipment mandatory on fishing vessels. It is mandatory on large boats, but it isn’t the case for smaller vessels.” According to a recommendation in the Senate committee’s report, EPIRBs would be mandatory in all fishing fleets within a handful of years.
“There’s still a long way to go,” said Murray.
“Often times, when a ship is sinking, it happens very fast. It’s quick and nobody knows it happened. And when you’re up to your neck in water, trying to stay alive, it can be hard to get an emergency signal out there, but EPIRBs take care of that.”
Such was the case of the Kyla Anne, which took on water in September. Two of the boat’s crew members were killed in the accident, a third was able to make it to shore, alerting citizens of Tignish and Islanders of the tragedy on the coast. No one knew of the boating accident until the survivor reached the shore and trekked several miles into a local business.
Gerald Arsenault, the president of P.E.I. Ground Search and Rescue assisted in the search for the Tignish fishermen. “Anything to help improve the safety of fishermen, and everyone, is a good thing.” Arsenault says rescuers are only given vital information while helping with a search: who they’re looking for, last possible location, when they disappeared, etc. He says if EPIRBs do become mandatory, it could really improve the services rescuers are able to provide.
“It could help with the timeliness of rescue operations and improve the safety of all involved.”
Prince County Fisherman’s Association president Lee Knox said most, if not all, of P.E.I.’s commercial lobster fishing fleet, is already equipped with EPIRBs.
“It’s mandatory for us. It’s also mandatory to have emergency suits and lifeboats. The people that don’t have them, haven’t been able to get them because the manufacturers simply couldn’t get them out fast enough. But a big percentage of Island lobster fishers are already equipped with EPIRBs.”
Knox said the presence of EPIRBs on boats is the difference between life or death.
“They are a great resource. We’ve seen them in action. Fishermen have been saved because of it.
“A couple of years ago there was an accident where a boat capsized and because of emergency equipment, the fishers on board were saved.”