A woman whose son was lost at sea last year is calling for a number of changes 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 Lady were never located after failing to return from a fishing trip on September 17, 2021.

Jeanette Russell, Marc’s mother, has spent the last year advocating for changes to federal regulations surrounding search and rescue and requirements for inshore fish harvesters.

She’s calling on the federal government to launch a commission of inquiry into fishing vessel safety to look at where the gaps are in the system, such as the requirement of beacons and the availability of search and rescue services, something she says is desperately lacking in Labrador.

Russell says there’s no Coast Guard vessel specifically assigned to Labrador. She says all of these issues were raised following the Burton Winters tragedy, but nothing has been done.

She’s also calling for some flexibility when it comes to the deadline to get nets out of the water. She says they were lost on the last day of the fishery and they knew conditions were windy.

She remembers having the conversation with Marc that day and him being stressed about getting his nets out of the water to avoid being “fined to death.” She says the regulations are encouraging people to go out in dangerous conditions.