M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai, recently upgraded a ‘fisher-friend’ mobile application programme that would meet the holistic shore-to-shore needs of the fishing community.
The foundation had, in partnership with Qualcomm, a mobile-technologies company, developed the fisher-friend mobile application as part of a post-tsunami rehabilitation strategy in 2007.
It was developed on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), a technology platform, to pass on critical information about wave height, wind speed, and direction.
“Post-tsunami, the fishermen were afraid to venture out into the sea. Even the fishing ground got shifted. If they are able to reach the fishing ground, they were unable to get any fish,” Nancy J. Anabel, director, Information, Education, and Communication, MSSRF, said.
“This critical factor drove the team in the foundation to develop the application in partnership with Qualcomm, Tata Teleservices, and Astute, a technology developer company, to pass critical information about potential fishing zones and market rates,” she added.

Source : The Hindu