Demonstration of transportation of fish using drone near the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Kochi on Friday.
Drones will emerge as a gamechanger in the fisheries sector, addressing several critical challenges with precision and efficiency, Union Minister of State for Fisheries George Kurian said here on Friday.
He was inaugurating an awareness workshop and demonstration of drone applications in the fisheries sector at the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.
“Drones play a pivotal role in managing aquaculture farms, monitoring fish markets, and assessing damage to fisheries infrastructure, particularly during natural disasters, when rescue operations are essential. On their part, underwater drones help closely monitor fish behaviour in natural habitats, to detect signs of distress like erratic swimming patterns and also provide real-time data that strengthen sustainable fisheries management,” he said.
The event saw live demonstration of drone applications in fisheries, including transportation of fish from the farm, dispensing aquafeeds and rescue operation.
The Minister said the Centre would develop 100 climate-resilient coastal fishermen villages across the country, to help fisher communities who encounter climate-change challenges, by allocating ₹2 crore per village under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. This would help ready common facilities like fish-drying yards, processing centres, fish markets, and emergency rescue facilities, whilst promoting climate-resilient practices like seaweed cultivation, artificial reefs, and green fuel initiatives.
The Union Department of Fisheries would install transponders in about one lakh marine fishing vessels this year at an estimate of ₹364 crore.
This would provide a two-way communication system enabling real-time tracking of fishing vessels and help fishermen to send short messages using their Android mobile phone while fishing up to 200 nautical miles from the coast.
The system would also provide weather alerts to the fishermen, including cyclone warning. The Indian Space Research Organisation developed this technology indigenously using GSAT 6 satellite. Information related to potential fishing zones too would be made available to the fishermen on their mobile in regional languages, Mr Kurian said.
Neetu Kumari Prasad, Joint Secretary in Union Department of Fisheries; B.K. Behra, Chief Executive of National Fisheries Development Board; Grinson George, Director of CMFRI; and George Ninan, Director of CIFT, spoke on the occasion
Published – November 08, 2024 07:02 pm IST