JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With boater safety week coming to a close, the U.S. Coast Guard made one final push to talk about the dangers of hoax distress calls and the way those calls can put real lives in danger.
The Coast Guard said that each year it receives about 1,800 mayday calls across the state and if someone calls in a fake mayday, they can be criminally charged and fined.
One of the reasons it's such a major offense to make a hoax call is that it costs about $2,000 to $10,000 for a boat to respond to a call. It can also put people's lives in danger.
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"In addition to that, it not only puts our crews in danger and in harm's way, but it can also pull the Coast Guard away from legit calls in distress. This is not to deter (people) to call for distress if they need assistance, (but) legit needs of assistance," Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Andrew Cohen said.
Cohen's remarks come after the Coast Guard received a call that a vessel with four fishermen were on a vessel that reportedly caught fire and sank off the coast of St. Augustine Monday.
At this time the Coast Guard does not believe it was a hoax call but no sign of the fisherman or debris has been found.
Last year, there was one confirmed hoax call in the Jacksonville area.