Fish Factor: Few fishermen are hooking into the Coast Guard direct SOS lifeline

Alaska fishermen can send an SOS call directly to the Coast Guard, but many are not hooking up to the new lifeline.

Digital Selective Calling (DSC) instantly signals a distress call over VHF radios to other vessels, and the feature has been a required part of the hand-held units since 1996. In Alaska, the ability for mariners to hook up with the Coast Guard was acquired just last year when transceiver and antenna ‘high sites’ in Southeast and South Central regions came on line (more are scheduled soon).

“There was a lot of rumor going around that DSC didn’t work in Alaska. In reality, DSC does...