For the first time a Marine Fisheries Census will be conducted in India through software application using mobile apps and virtual servers to collect and process data in real-time, which will process 80 per cent faster than before. According to the Ministry of Fisheries Animal Husbandry & Dairying, this technology will enhance transparency and accountability with data accessible via transparent dashboards.
The ministry conducts a fisheries Census every five years, which helps in making future policies and schemes for the benefit of the people, who are related to this sector. Describing the benefits of Census data, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh said this Census will help to get real-time data of people related to the fisheries sector.
In the process, information on fishermen’s households, infrastructure and coastal ecosystem will be collected, which will help in making further policies and schemes.
Marine Fisheries Census 2025 will be paperless and digital, which will be fully digital, leveraging mobile apps and virtual servers to collect and process data in real-me, making the process 80 per cent faster than before. It will cover 1.2 million households across India’s coastline.
The Census will be conducted in just 45 days, with a workforce of 3,500 field staff, the ministry informed. The Census will cover three key areas: household sizes, socio-economic status and engagement with fisherfolk.”
The second, capturing the role of coastal communities in fishing practices and related activities.
And third assess critical infrastructure such as ice plants, cold storage and boat-building yards.
As per the ministry’s information, Census 2025 will include the third gender in all data categories, ensuring a more inclusive and accurate reflection of fishing communities. The gender-sensitive data will allow the government to design more effective interventions to improve the lives of a coastal population. Climate resilience will also be an important part as climate change impacts coastal regions.
The Hindu adds:
Another major scheme launched is the ‘National Plan of Action on Sharks’ to help sustainable shark management. This is a follow-up of the International Plan of Action for Sharks, a voluntary instrument adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1999.
“The plan provides for improving data collection, increased resource allocation, coordination among maritime state departments, capacity building in species identification, habitat mapping to aid conservation efforts and utilising traditional knowledge of fishermen,” the Ministry said.
India’s endorsement of the Regional Plan of Action on IUU Fishing to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Bay of Bengal Region jointly in cooperation with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives has also been announced at the function.
The International Maritime Organization-Food and Agricultural Organization GloLitter Partnership Project to combat marine plastic litter, and Standard Operating Procedures for retrofitted LPG kits to promote energy-efficient, low-cost marine fishing fuels were also launched on Thursday. “
Additionally, the New Single Window System by the Coastal Aquaculture Authority was launched to enable online registration of coastal aquaculture farms. A signed MoU was also exchanged to implement a framework for the Voluntary Carbon Market, harnessing carbon-sequestering practices in the sector,” the Ministry said.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centre-launches-marine-fisheries-census-to-be-completed-in-45-days/article68894830.ece