Article Category: Safety Gear & Technology

A Safer World for Commercial Fishermen

A Safer World for Commercial Fishermen

Advances in policy, best practices and technology are saving lives. If there’s one fact known to both commercial fishermen and landlubbers alike, it’s that the profession is dangerous. But humanity has come a long way since we first cast off the dock lines, and fortunately there is positive news on the mariner safety front. According to the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA), the latest research from on Alaska commercial fishing fatalities shows a 57% decrease from 2013 to 2022. The bottom line: mariners are not alone when it comes to emphasizing safety, whether the effort includes National Institute of Occupational Safety (NIOSH), which tracked the decrease in fishing deaths, or the U.S. Coast Guard. “Commercial fishing is still one of the most dangerous occupations,...
Safety Gear & Technology 2023: ‘A Tectonic Shift’

Safety Gear & Technology 2023: ‘A Tectonic Shift’

Many times when the annual Fishermen’s News safety gear and technology articles are written, the updates usually concern incremental updates to various pieces of gear used on or near commercial fishing vessels. But in this instance, our article delves into some momentous happenings in the safety gear industry brought on by new international regulations. As of July 2022, any Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, or EPIRB, newly installed on a commercial vessel must have an internal Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracking system used for collision avoidance on sea and monitoring of maritime traffic. New EPIRBs are required to have an internal AIS locating signal and an internal Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, along with 406 MHz and 121.5 MHz transmitters...