New Delhi: Drone technology, originally developed for military purposes like surveillance and reconnaissance, has rapidly expanded its applications across various sectors. Today, drones are revolutionizing agriculture by optimizing crop health monitoring and soil management and are also playing crucial roles in environmental monitoring, disaster response, and infrastructure management. Recognizing this potential, the Department of fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying is exploring how drone technology can enhance operations in the fisheries sector by improving monitoring, surveillance, and resource management.
Drone technology offers innovative solutions to numerous challenges in fisheries and aquaculture. Recent initiatives have introduced drones for water sampling in large reservoirs and efficient fish feeding management. The scope of drones extends further, offering benefits such as monitoring fish marketing, managing aquaculture farms, and assessing damage to fisheries infrastructure during natural disasters like floods or hurricanes. Underwater drones can monitor fish behavior in their natural habitats, helping identify signs of distress, such as erratic swimming patterns or surface gulping, and aiding in early disease detection. High-resolution drone imagery can detect visible symptoms of diseases, like ulcers or hemorrhages on fish bodies, facilitating timely intervention and management.
Additionally, drones help monitor water quality, detect pollutants, and identify harmful algal blooms, thereby safeguarding marine ecosystems. In emergency situations, drones prove invaluable by assisting in search and rescue operations, locating missing persons or vessels quickly and efficiently. Currently, the use of drones in the fisheries sector is primarily limited to research institutions, but efforts are underway to expand their application. Application of Drone Technology is expanding in various filed, and this technology can play a crucial role in transportation of fish and fish products.
The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), in collaboration with ICAR fisheries institutes and state departments, is initiating nationwide demonstrations and pilot studies to highlight the benefits of drones to fishers, Fish Farmer Producer Organizations (FFPOs), and students. One notable development is the creation of a remote-controlled, drone-based vertical water sampler by the ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI). This technology can collect water samples from different depths in inland water bodies, providing critical data on water quality and pollution levels.
Drones offer a range of applications in fisheries, including surveillance, stock assessment, environmental monitoring, disease detection, search and rescue operations, precision fishing, and aquaculture management. Despite challenges like regulatory compliance, high costs, technical limitations, and the need for specialized training, the advantages of drone technology in improving operational efficiency and resource management are significant. To promote adoption, the Ministry of Fisheries plans to conduct demonstrations in various states and Union Territories from September to December 2024, displaying drone applications such as transporting fresh fish, dispensing feed in aquaculture farms, and aiding in disaster response.
The Ministry has taken substantial steps to advance drone technology in fisheries and launched a Pilot Study worth Rs 1.16 Cr for transportation of Fish and Fish Products with payload up to 100Kg app to a range of 10Km. The range would be further extended on success of the project. These Nationwide demonstrations for creating awareness and Pinot study on fish transportation will open new era of innovation in the fisheries sector.
In a step towards integrating technology in fisheries, a Pilot project on the Use of Drone Technology for fish transportation to be done by Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) was unveiled by Hon’ble Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh. This study aims to explore the potential of drones in monitoring and managing inland fisheries, improving efficiency and sustainability.
