Mom of Man Misplaced at Sea Calling for Federal Inquiry into Fishing Vessel Security

A lady whose son was misplaced at sea final yr is looking for various modifications to the search and rescue system in Labrador.

Twenty-five-year-old Marc Russell of Mary’s Harbour and 30-year-old Joey Jenkins of Lodge Bay and the vessel the Island Girl had been by no means positioned after failing to return from a fishing journey on September 17, 2021.

Jeanette Russell, Marc’s mom, has spent the final yr advocating for modifications to federal laws surrounding search and rescue and necessities for inshore fish harvesters.

She’s calling on the federal authorities to launch a fee of inquiry into fishing vessel security to have a look at the place the gaps are within the system, such because the requirement of beacons and the provision of search and rescue companies, one thing she says is desperately missing in Labrador.

Russell says there’s no Coast Guard vessel particularly assigned to Labrador. She says all of those points had been raised following the Burton Winters tragedy, however nothing has been completed.

She’s additionally calling for some flexibility in terms of the deadline to get nets out of the water. She says they had been misplaced on the final day of the fishery they usually knew situations had been windy.

She remembers having the dialog with Marc that day and him being pressured about getting his nets out of the water to keep away from being “fined to dying.” She says the laws are encouraging folks to exit in harmful situations.