The Fisheries Department will insist upon fishers to use satellite phones and other tracking devices while going to sea to ensure their safety, especially during the monsoon.
In some cases such tracking equipment were not being put to use properly. The members of clusters were not sharing the satellite phones or not turning them on as they should. There have been complaints that fishers do not use tracking devices and when they go missing, it is extremely difficult to track them.
Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar said that the government had been distributing satellite phones to clusters of boats that go deep sea fishing and that they must use the phones. “These are being given at 75% subsidy to ensure the safety of the fishers. During the Northeast monsoon that has just set, our control room will be tracking crafts. We will coordinate with the Meteorology department and other State government departments," he said.
A total of 500 satellite phones have been procured from BSNL at a cost ₹5.12 crore and they are being distributed in batches to beneficiaries. "Even on Tuesday, we distributed 15 sets to various clusters," he said.
The satellite phones can be used by deep sea fishermen to communicate with the shore and among themselves. They can also to be used to track boats during times of distress and to disseminate weather warnings. One set costs ₹1 lakh approximately with the MPEDA bearing 50% of the cost.
Meanwhile, the State government is also procuring 4,997 transponders for mechanised boats in the State at a cost of ₹18.01 crore.
