> Thank you. So it is a case of people planning poorly. :( Well most of them were picked up by another fishing vessel, probably because of a VHF radio distress

> Thank you. So it is a case of people planning poorly. :( Well most of them were picked up by another fishing vessel, probably because of a VHF radio distress call and not a ELB/PLB. Those devices often depend on reception by overflying commercial aircraft, which are bound by international treaty to monitor the frequencies and forward reports to land-based authorities. Others use satellite reception. Such beacons are the method of last resort when far from land and not in the company of other nearby vessels, and it can take quite awhile for responders to get the report and make it out to the area.