Saving Lives at Sea and on Land

A boat can sink in under a minute, stranding passengers miles from land and leaving them virtually invisible amid the vast expanse of water. Survival can depend on emergency supplies such as a personal locator beacon (PLB) and emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) to alert search and rescue teams. When a competitive fishing trip went wrong for Easton Barrett and his friends 40 miles off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi in 2024, a PLB helped the U.S. Coast Guard rescue the people clinging to coolers and treading water after being head-butted by sharks.