New Delhi, July 23 (UNI) A prototype drone is being developed by ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI) for transportation of fish and shrimp from production centre to market with a capacity of 70 kg payload under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada (PMMSY), the Government told Rajya Sabha today.
Fisheries Research Institutes under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have initiated research programmes on drones and expanding its uses to collect water samples for analysis from open-water bodies and difficult terrains; distribution of feed and medicines into culture systems; biomass estimation; health monitoring, etc, said Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, George Kurian, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
The Department of Fisheries has constituted a technical committee to formulate the Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) on application of drone technology in fisheries and aquaculture, said the Minister.
He further said that innovations and innovative projects/activities, technology demonstration including startups, incubators and pilot projects is one of the activities under central sector scheme component of PMMSY which also cover extending financial support for promotion of drone technology in fisheries and aquaculture.
“Key activities such as surveillance, stock assessment, environmental monitoring, disease detection, automated feeding in aquaculture including shrimp farm, water sampling, and precision fishing represent significant technological advancements in the fisheries sector which can cover under central sector scheme component of PMMSY,” said the Minister.
