K'taka fishermen seek PM Modi’s intervention to save their livelihoods

Udupi: Leading fishermen’s associations in Karnataka have highlighted the urgent need for the adoption of new technologies in the state’s fishing sector.

They have also written to Prime Minister of India under the aegis of Indian Fishermen for Technology Adoption (IFTA), seeking his direct intervention to spur the adoption of new technologies in the sector. Prominent boat owners and fishing community leaders in Gujarat had also written to the PM recently and highlighted similar issues.

Ganapati Mangre, Chairman of The North Kanara District Co-Operative Fish Marketing Federation Limited, elaborating on the community’s challenges, said, “The lives of hundreds and thousands of fishermen are lost at sea every year due to the unavailability of modern connectivity technologies such as satellite-based navigation systems that can connect Indian fishermen with mobile devices offering timely SoS alerts and harvesting predictions to ensure better catches and safety while at sea. We urge the government’s help for the industry to adopt new technologies to address this great risk to our lives and livelihoods.”

Yashpal Suvarna, President South Kanara and Udupi district co operative Fish Marketing Federation Limited Mangalore said, “The incident involving four fishermen who went missing at Malpe recently and the loss of lives from the Suvarna Tribhuja incident last year remain painfully etched in our collective memory and made us realise that our usual methods of communication and warnings were not adequate to respond to tragedies like these. It is high time that India adopts the highly-advanced communications and connectivity technologies that are already available to ensure the fishing sector benefits from them in the longer term.”

“The Center must implement their adoption via standardising quality of technologies available across the states. We have tested BSNL’s transponder, which has two-way data communication directly over satellite and works in the deep sea. We urge the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s direct intervention and request his government to broadly deploy the latest technology immediately. We need a solution today as any delay will continue to endanger the safety and security of fishermen at sea,” they added.

The adoption of next-generation digital and satellite communications technologies would raise productivity of fishing harvests, create world-class competitiveness, apart from addressing the immediate and urgent challenge to ensure the safety of the state’s fishermen on the high seas. With the availability of new satellite technology, India today has access to services that can ensure the safety of fishermen through ubiquitous coverage that allow fishermen to communicate anywhere and even during the worst of storms, cyclones or other natural calamities.

Along with enhancing safety, technology can also help the fishermen raise their productivity and enable e-commerce transactions at sea. Through 2–way data systems, it is now becoming easier to send fish location data to fishermen at sea to ensure better supply and demand matching, while allowing fishermen to access markets and transact at sea to maximize the value of their catch.

In what is steadily becoming a nationwide call, more fisheries, fish cooperatives and boat owner associations are supporting the IFTA. Indian Fishermen for Technology Adoption will continue to bring the numerous issues being faced by fishermen to the forefront. The focus will remain on the digital transformation of this important sector that can benefit fishermen directly and the country more broadly, especially emphasizing the need for prompt action to prevent further tragedies.

Today, the nation’s fishermen eagerly await decisive action on behalf of the government to reap the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).