New Technology for Fishing

It is only the fishermen who have gone for fishing to the seas and their families living close to sea on the
shores who are affected most in times of natural calamities like torrential rains, rough seas, strong
winds, storms, tsunami etc. that normally occur during monsoon.

These people usually live near the coast, in residences built mostly in poramboke lands or in the sand
dunes. They do not have property documents like the patta and often unable to get approval from the
government for building houses there. They are also unable to obtain bank loans, as their dwellings
basically remain unauthorized constructions. Fishermen hence live mostly in temporary dwellings like
thatched or tiled houses, all over the country.

States and Present Fishing Technologies

The lives and conditions of fishermen living in as many as 13 states like Tamilnadu, Kerala, Puducherry,
Andra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, and union territories
like Diu-Daman, Andaman-Nicobar, Lakshadweep, are indeed pathetic. This is especially so for those
who live states like Andhra, Odisha, and West Bengal.

Fishermen’s means of livelihood are impermanent. Their boats, worth lakhs of rupees, can get destroyed
in no time under the fury of mother sea. Their lives are in constant danger and there is always a fear
that even their bodies won’t return. Only those whose bodies return or are found are declared dead and
their families become eligible for relief. If their bodies are not found for seven years, they will not be
declared dead and their families are often in the streets without their sole breadwinner.

Fishermen lives are bound with the sea, not with the rest of society. They know little else to do in terms
of earning a livelihood. Their families suffer a lot if their bodies are not found.

During Ockhi, due to the publicity it got, relief was more readily available. But such deaths occur every
year. Typically, in most coastal states, fishermen families are offered a relief of Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh if
fishermen die in the sea. For the first time, in Puducherry, the government has come up with a scheme
of giving compensation of Rs 10 lakh if fishermen lose their life at sea and Rs 5 lakh if he dies in an
accident on shore.

ISRO Involvement

Having said this, the best solution to this is prevention rather than relief. There should be better
communication with fishermen so that they are warned if a storm or tsunami is forecast. The
government has made some efforts towards this. The Indian Space Research Organisation has been
working on such technologies. There has been a suggestion that satellite phones be given to fishermen
after due process and with subsidies.

Based on my inputs, a South Korean firm has made a proof-of-concept device that would enable such
communication. The google phone is capable of communicating up to 200 nautical miles. It has attached
cameras that can give people in the shore a view of what is happening in the boat and around it. The
tablet also functions as a GPS. People can call fishermen on their boats and give them distress warnings
so they can come home. The device is being validated and tested. Originally designed for use in the
trucking industry, I request that the government distribute this after validation to fishermen and
subsidize it.

(The author is the chairperson of National Fisherfolk Forum)