Now, mobile apps for fishermen

The Chennai-based M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has provided fishermen-friendly mobile applications to boat operators who venture deep into the Bay of Bengal. The MSSRF, in collaboration with technology-provider Qualcomm Company, distributed some 20 hand-held devices with the app. to select boat operators belonging to Gilakaladindi and Campbellpeta areas in Krishna district. The services provided by the app include tracking potential fishing zones, ocean state forecast such as length of the waves in the sea and weather conditions. The hand-held device would also provide market information, news and government schemes meant for fisher folk. “The beneficiaries all depend on fishing for a livelihood. They were trained in the operation of the application and the mobile,” said Machilipatnam based MSSRF representative D. Srinivasa Rao. The app provides data both in English and Telugu. Plans are afoot to cover more boat operators in Krishna district once the application is proved worthy.