CMFRI publishes online directory of fish-landing centers' close to COVID 19 hotspots

KOCHI, 8 May 2020: Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has launched an online database using the geographic information system (GIS) to assist local authorities in the southern state of Kerala in their management of the fisheries sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement released on 6 May 2020, CMFRI said that GIS-based database will provide visualization of all 156 fish landing centers in Kerala, divided in three categories presented in color groups corresponding to their geographical proximity to coronavirus hotspots, as identified by Indian governmental authorities.

This comes after the central government extended the lockdown, as requested by many chief ministers till 17 May 2020. Looking at the current, situations, it might be extended further, as coastal states like Maharashtra is still reeling under the COVID crisis as cases have now crossed 16,000 patients.

This is on the lines of arogya setu app, which give details to users where a COVID patient near a healthy user.

The service has been divided in categories. In the first category, fish-landing centers located within three kilometers can be located near a hotspot. In the second category hotspot within three and five kilometers are indentified and centers at a distance of between five to 10 kilometers from the hotspot will fall under the third category.

Speaking on this, CMFRI Director A. Gopalakrishnan said that the initiative will greatly help authorities and policy makers to monitor the daily activities and take steps for regulatory or safety measures in marine fisheries sector in the backdrop of the COVID-19.

The database will become a useful tool to implement safety measures for each landing centers according to their category, Gopalakrishnan added.

Adding further, Gopalakrishnan said, anyone can access the GIS database through CMFRI website, which will be updated regularly, making it possible for anyone to check online the category of a particular fish-landing center in Kerala.

The institute is working to apply the database for fish landing centers in other states in India, he added.