Now, an app for fishermen to track sea conditions

Location-specific information in local languages on a mobile app for those venturing to deep-sea fishing will be on Google Play Store by February.

MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), in association with Qualcomm and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), has already done a pilot project on such an app with around 5,000 fishermen in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, according to Nancy J Anabel, Director of MSSRF.

Speaking on ‘Role of ICT and space technology in transforming fishing communities’ at the second day sessions of the national-level workshop on ‘Adoption of Space Technology for Fisheries’ in Mangaluru on Tuesday, she said that the pilot project on ‘Fisher Friend’ mobile application was launched in 2014 in 18 mobile handsets. Now more than 5,000 fishermen are using this app.

The app provides information about weather and ocean conditions, potential fishing zones (PFZs), disaster alerts and current market prices of fish. The app warns fishermen, if they are crossing the international boundary line in the sea, she said.

There is a provision in the app to alert the Coast Guard crew in case of emergencies. Fishermen can avoid danger zones in the sea and the areas with sunken ships by using this app.

Stating that fishermen want the app in their local languages, she said the app is now available in four languages.

Work is almost completed for Bengali and Marathi language app. Almost 80 per cent of work has been completed in Gujarati and Odia language app, she said.

A pan-India app with different local languages will be ready on Google Play Store by February, Anabel said.

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