A commercial fishing vessel captain was pulled to safety Tuesday after his boat sank off Montauk, leaving him stranded in the water and holding onto an emergency radio beacon.

The rescue effort began around 11:30 a.m. when a watchstander received a distress signal from an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon, or EPIRB. The signal was traced to the Miss Alexa, a 39-foot commercial fishing vessel.

When rescuers were unable to contact the boat's operator, a large-scale search was launched.

The U.S. Coast Guard, the Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing, and the New York Army National Guard were involved in the operation, deploying two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to search waters about three miles southwest of Montauk.

Rescue crews eventually found the vessel's captain in the water near a debris field where the vessel sank. Authorities said he was not wearing a life jacket and was found holding onto the radio beacon while in the water.

The captain was rescued and taken for medical evaluation. Officials said he was in stable condition and suffered only a laceration to his finger.

The coast guard said the working EPIRB served as the sole distress signal to alert and help guide recuse crews, and it's important that the beacons be registered, working and accessible.