Around 600 boats in the Kasimedu fishing harbour have been fitted with two-way communication transponders with technology developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
These transponders will come in handy in case of emergencies and will allow the boat owners, the Fisheries department control room and other agencies like the Coast Guard to know the whereabouts of the vessel.
According to officials in the Fisheries department, in the first phase, 1,400 deep-sea vessels and multi-day voyage vessels will be covered. “So far, around 900 transponders have been fixed on boats in Chennai, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thoothukudi and Colachel. ISRO has provided the technology to three companies of which one has developed the product and will provide around 2,700 transponders. We will fix the transponders as we get them,” said an official.
The ₹18-crore project to install around 5,000 transponders on boats in the State has been funded by the Government of India. The equipment allows two-way text communication via GSAT6 Satellite. Mobile applications have been developed for android phones/tablets for use by the fishermen on board and for the owners. The device can be synced through the respective mobile applications via Bluetooth.
Weather alerts
Apart from such communication, the department can push information related to weather and fish shoals. “If a cyclone warning has been issued and the information has to be sent to them, it can be done through this device. A buzzer has been fixed inside the boat and can be used to alert the fishermen in case of emergencies. When the fishing boat sends information, the satellite downlink lands at the ISRO’s satellite application centre in Ahmedabad, which pushes the feed to the Fisheries department server and other agencies like the Coast Guard,” said another official.
The equipment has several advantages over other communication devices like VHF that have limited reach. It is cost-effective and can run for 28 hours even after electrical connection is severed. Although the device was fixed in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu on a trial basis in 2017, that version had limited uses. The latest one provides more features for fishermen and Tamil Nadu is the first State in the country to get it, said the official.
