Ahmedabad, India, 23 November 2006 – Fishermen from the state of Gujarat who till now navigated in the seas using nothing but their instinct may soon have the technology to their aid as a satellite-aided tracking system is being developed indeginiously to be fitted on their trawlers.
Being developed by scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Ahmedabad, the low-cost `vessel monitoring system’ (VMS) is expected to be fitted in fishing trawlers that would be linked via satellite with the Coast Guard, senior Coast Guard officials said.
“The VMS is being develped by the ISRO to help the coast guard keep a track of fishermen’s trawlers. This low cost tracking device will be useful to monitor their movement during a hurricane, Tsunami and even if they stray into international seas”, Gujarat Coast Guard Commandant G C Raj said.
The coast guard officials said the trial of the VMS was yet to be conducted. “The VMS should be ready by 2007. We will conduct a trial after that. As of now, even its pricing has not been decided,” another coast guard official supervising the crucial project said.
