Straight from the FCC's website:
VHF Marine Channel 16 Designated for Emergency Calls - Section 80.369
of the FCC's Rules states that VHF Marine Channel 16 (156.800 MHz) is
the international voice, distress, urgency, safety, call, and reply
channel for ship, public, and private coast stations. The Coast Guard
continually monitors Channel 16 and treats any distress call received
as an emergency that should be immediately investigated. Prohibited
Channel 16 communications include: false distress or emergency
messages, superfluous communications, messages containing obscene,
indecent, or profane words or meaning, general calls (calls not
addressed to a particular station), routine messages and radio tests,
and communications when your ship is on land (for example, while the
ship is on a trailer).
Interference to a maritime distress and safety frequency, including VHF
Marine Channel 16, is a violation of the most critical nature, with
potential impact upon safety of life and property. Harmful interference
can be caused not only by intentional operation, but also by stuck
microphones on Channel 16, and inadvertent activation of EPIRBs. Harmful
interference disrupts vital safety frequencies, and can obscure genuine
distress transmissions. Tracking down such interference also places a
strain on valuable resources of the safety and rescue agencies. Be aware
that the Enforcement Bureau intends to strictly enforce the Rules related
to marine radio operations.
Violators may be subject to the penalties authorized by the Communications
Act, including first offense fines as high as $16,000 for each violation
or imprisonment for up to one year. Your radio equipment can also be
seized and forfeited to the U.S. Government. In addition, the Coast Guard
can recover the costs of its rescue efforts when the initiating distress
call is determined to be false; these rescue-related costs can be as much
as $5,000 per hour.
Since this is an inland waterway obviously the Coast Guard would not be called in but I have to believe that even so the governing authorities would be interested in enforcing all out blatant abuse of the marine bands in particular channel 16. As stated it could have been an honest mistake but all the more reason to take care that you're not accidentally doing a dead mike. FCC takes this stuff pretty serious and it is certainly stressed when acquiring any kind of license from them such as a HAM license and although the Marine bands are open to unlicensed public use that doesn't mean there are not consequences for careless use intentional or not.
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