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Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Union Secretary, Dept. of Fisheries, GoI visited ICAR-CIFRI, for launching pilot project on “Drone technology for live fish transport”

24 September, 2024
India has vast and distributed areas of inland open waters but their fish landing centers are scattered and not evenly connected. Traditional systems of data collection, input application, fish catch, fish transportation, etc., involve high operational costs associated with deploying vessels, personnel, equipment, and limited budget.

These collective issues indicate that a transformative solution is needed to address these multifaceted challenges in fisheries management. Though the farming system is reforming every day to keep pace with the ever-increasing evolution of modern technologies, the systematic fish transportation for economical utilization of the landed fish lacks the proper scientific methodology, time efficiency and cost-effective means since it is an essential prerequisite for the appropriate development of our fishing and fish processing industries. The long time required for the transport through distanced route, traffic, lack of proper transport facilities, handling and preservations can cause irreparable damage to the fish and even death which incurs low market price and huge loss to the farmers. In recent times, drone based technology is changing the scenario of fish farming with its advanced technology for smart carrying capacity, less human intervention, time efficient for input distribution, mapping large areas, underwater imaging etc. The technology has the tremendous potential to deliver vital goods to remote locations, overcoming access barriers and enabling faster delivery.

To explore the potential of drone technology in the fishery sector, the Department of Fisheries, Govt. of India launched a pilot project on “Developing drone technology for live fish transport” in the occasion of 4th Anniversary of PMMSY on 11.09.2024 at New Delhi. The project will be carried out by ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Kolkata with an objective to design and develop an efficient drone based solution which will be able to carry up to 100 kg live fish and deliver it to the selected fish market or assembly hub. In this connection, Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Union Secretary, Department. of Fisheries visited ICAR-CIFRI, Kolkata on 24.09.2024 for reviewing the institute research and development in drone application for fisheries management.

In the review meeting, Dr. B. K. Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI elaborately presented the institute achievements and progress made in drone-based technologies. Start-up company also made presentation on drone applications in fisheries sector. Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi critically appraised all the research developments and emphasized that every R&D program should reach to the end users for real applications and betterment of the fisher community. He suggested to conduct more demonstration cum awareness campaigns for educating the fisher communities about the available drone technologies which are beneficial for their farming. Senior officers from fisheries department from states, ministry of civil aviation, NAFED, NCDC, NERMARC, SFAC, retailers, start-ups, fisheries subordinate offices, State Government officials, FFPOs, cooperatives etc. were also present through virtual conference (VC).

In the program, different drone-based technologies viz. sprayer drone, feed broadcast drone and cargo delivery drone were demonstrated by ICAR-CIFRI and star-up company among more than 100 fishermen and fisherwomen from West Bengal and Bihar. The pilot project will open new era in fisheries sector with a drone based solution for transporting fresh fish with less time and minimum human involvement while minimizing stress to the fish. The research and development with private partnership would also enable consumers and farmers to have better hygienic fresh fish in the supply chain system.
During the drone demonstration, Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, actively interacted with the fish farmers, listening to their experiences, challenges and success stories. He instructed to document their problems and concerns for taking prompt actions.