KOCHI: Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma on Wednesday urged research institutes to provide the government with the technology to track fishing boats venturing into the sea and record details of the fishermen in each boat to ensure effective rescue operation during a crisis.The minister was speaking at a special stakeholders' workshop on disaster management organised by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) as part of the international symposium on 'Remote Sensing for Fisheries.'
“The Fisheries Department will also utilise the technology provided by research institutes like ISRO, INCOIS and CMFRI to improve fish production and ensure better income to fishermen,” she said. On the occasion, Mercykutty Amma announced the government will distribute the Navigation with Indian Constellation (Navic) gadgets developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) among fishermen to facilitate effective communication with them while they are at sea.
The government's move comes two months after Cyclone Ockhi ravaged the state's coastal areas and claimed several lives. “As many as 500 Navic devices provided by ISRO will be distributed to fishermen at a function on January 30. Keltron will manufacture the gadgets using the technology provided by ISRO and 1,000 such devices will be distributed to fishermen in February. In the first phase, the devices will be provided for free,” she said,
Mercykutty Amma said the gadget was used on experimental basis in fishing vessels operating from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kochi harbours. “The device enabled communication with fishing boats up to 96 nautical miles (177.79 km) in Kochi, 92 nautical miles (170.38 km) in Kollam and 60 nautical miles (111.12 km) in Thiruvananthapuram. However, the fishermen complained they could not understand the message as it was in English,” said the minister who requested the ISRO authorities to take steps for enabling communication in local language.
Electronic display board at 12 harbours
The minister also inaugurated an electronic display board developed by INCOIS (Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services), Hyderabad, which will provide information on potential fishing zones, climate change, depression in the sea that trigger cyclones, tsunamis and high wave alerts. The board will be installed at Munambam harbour in Ernakulam. Fishermen can collect information from the display board before venturing into the sea. INCOIS will provide 11 more display boards which will be installed at 11 important fishing harbours in the state, the minister said.
'Kerala not keen on using Centre's data'
INCOIS Information Services and Ocean Sciences division head T M Balakrishnan Nair said though the Centre was providing information on potential fishing zones and climate change, Kerala was not keen on utilising the data. INCOIS will organise workshops in all districts to create awareness among fishermen about the data, he said.
CMFRI principal scientist A P Dinesh Babu said around 70 per cent of trawlers in Kerala and Karnataka were fishing outside territorial waters.“There should be regulations on fishing operations considering the depleting marine resources as it will lead to conflicts. Climate change and global warming are increasing the ocean temperature and the phenomenon is changing. The south-west coast of India is expected to shift to new, high-temperature climatic regimes with significant impacts,” Babu said.