‘Helps fishermen find better catch, sell at higher price’: Qualcomm head on Fisher Friend app

Angela Baker, the head of corporate responsibility at Qualcomm Inc speaks to The Indian Express about the initiative.

You plan a collaboration between the fisheries department and the Fisher Friend application. What is the nature of the collaboration? Will the app help fishermen across the Indian coastline? Which states have seen maximum usage of your app?

The Fisher Friend mobile application was developed after several consultative meetings with fishermen and other stakeholders to understand their needs. The application has been in use across India’s coastline as it is available in eight local languages and English. The app has seen over 65,000 downloads, with Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha, and Kerala showing the highest engagement.

We have actively engaged with the fisheries departments to promote the app. MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), the implementing agency, has also signed an MOU with the government of Kerala. MSSRF has created state-level and district-level advisory committees to seek advice from experts. The committees meet every six months to discuss programme implementation, offer feedback and advice, and suggest other organizations which could contribute to the initiative.

As the app provides valuable information that helps in safeguarding lives and livelihood assets of fishermen, the state governments have invited our team to promote the app in their outreach events. Meanwhile, state government officials also educate fishermen about the importance of the app and encourage them to use it. The government of Puducherry has incorporated the Fisher Friend programme into its co-management programme for resource management for fisheries and livelihood strategies of fishermen.

Have potential fishing zones changed since your app started operating in the country? Do fishermen now have to venture further into the sea for their catch?

Landing-centre-specific potential fishing zone advisories and specific advisories about tuna fish help fishermen to catch fish easily so that they can sell it for a better price and increase their income. Reports from users of the app and other research have found that fishermen who follow the advisories do not have to search the ocean for fish shoals. The reduced search time results in decreased fuel consumption. The number of days spent at sea has come down from 6 days to 3–4 days. The app’s tracking feature enables fishers to take the shortest route to the location and return to the shore without any deviation. With the increased harvest of economically valuable fish, there has been an increase in boat owners’ income and the fishing crew’s wages. This increased income is helping them pay for the education of their children, improving the health of their family, and their loans.

Has climate change affected the fish population along the Indian coast?

Production from marine capture fisheries has been stagnant during the past 10 years because of overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution. Climate change may exacerbate this situation. The warming of the seas impacts the diversity, distribution, abundance and phenology of fish, and water acidification affects calciferous animals.

As per research by CMFRI these are a couple of changes that fisheries have experienced due to climate change: First, small pelagic fish like oil sardines are moving northward.

Until 1985, almost the entire catch of oil sardines was from the Malabar upwelling zone, with little or no catch from latitudes north of 14N. However, during the past two decades, oil sardines are moving northward, leading to an increase in catch between latitudes 14-20 N, owing to a warming of the seas between these latitudes. It is known that the higher the sea surface temperature, the better the oil sardine catch. However, this has not led to a decrease in catch from the Malabar upwelling zone.

Secondly, the Indian mackerel is going further deeper into the sea. This breed of fish usually occupies surface and sub-surface waters. But recent studies indicate that more than 15% of mackerel have been caught by bottom trawlers along the Indian coast. So, it appears that, with the warming of sub-surface waters, the mackerel has been going deeper down into the sea.

Your app is mostly aimed at marine fisheries. Based on your studies, do you think it is still economical to be a small-time fisherman in India? With cyclones taking place more often than before, what changes do you think fishermen will have to adapt to in order to be profitable?

For decades, Indian fishermen have relied on their traditional knowledge of fishing grounds. However, rapid climate changes have rendered their methods obsolete. As a result, they find it difficult to decide on a safe time to venture out into the sea. Moreover, considering that the international border between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka is not well-marked, there is always the danger that they might accidentally cross the line and get penalized.

Small-scale fisheries — both motorized and non-motorized ones — are largely environment-friendly and cause less harm to habitats than industrial fisheries. However, the catch of small fishermen is negatively impacted by the operations of industrial fisheries.

The application addresses many of the challenges faced by small-scale fishermen by providing timely advisories on weather and sea conditions and helping them find the best places to fish. For example, the app helped save as many as 400 lives during Cyclone Okhi through its timely alerts. More recently, when Cyclone Tauktae hit the western coast of India, the app provided regular alerts, warning fishermen about the dangers.

With India witnessing a virtual internet revolution thanks to 4G and penetration of smartphones, how have fishermen taken up to usage of apps?

With a coastline of nearly 7,500 kilometres, India has a unique maritime position. The coastal economy sustains over 4 million fisherfolk and coastal communities. Parshottam Rupala, the minister of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy told the Parliament on August 6, 2021, that the Centre aims to increase fisheries’ exports to ₹1 trillion by 2025 by supporting the development of fishing harbours.

Qualcomm, through its Wireless Reach initiative, will be aiding the development of the marine fisheries sector by providing technology to improve livelihood, yield, and profits. The Fisher Friend application is being extensively used by fishermen to safeguard their lives and livelihood assets and improve their income.

The app’s usage is tracked using Google Analytics, which helps us understand which features are providing the greatest value to the users.

Fishermen have also found the Ocean State Forecast helpful as it provides them information on wind speeds, wave heights, sea currents, and sea surface temperature.