[bigeasy1]

I may be mistaken,but didn't a law requiring Epirb's at fishing tournaments on the ocean and great lakes fail a few years back?.

I think it makes sense,but unlike most of us on this and other sites that are comprised of serious fishermen and boaters,there are a whole lot of yahoo's who only see boats as a fun thing,and would not support Epirbs as a requirement.Hell, a lot of them don't even have enough life jackets on board.These would be the people(not all but many) who would be against it.
I always wear an inflatable life jacket when I'm on the water,and have also been thinking about an Epirb.I watched a 30' boat sink in a matter of minutes,fortunately they were only a few miles offshore,and were all rescued by boats in the same area.
Had they been twenty miles offshore it may have been a different story.
It took forever for the Coast Guard from the Niagara station to get to the sinking.

I would be a big supporter of Epirb requirements on big water.