SAFARI Symposium to formulate road map for fisheries development

In a major attempt to utilise the global expertise for making use of satellite data for the development of India’s marine fisheries sector, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) is all set to host the second international symposium on SAFARI (Societal Applications in Fisheries and Aquaculture using Remote Sensing Imagery) from January 15 to 17 (Monday to Wednesday) in Kochi.

The three-day event will come up with a road map for utilising satellite data for scores of objectives in the marine sector that include identifying areas of fish abundance in the sea, providing real-time advisories on nature of the ocean, forecasting various ocean phenomena such as mud bank and changes in sea-surface temperature (SST) and predicting the changes occurring in the ocean ecosystem owing to climate change. Eminent scientists working on global ocean satellite data, technocrats, oceanographers, marine experts and policy makers from across the globe will converge at the symposium to find ways and means to finalise the roadmap.

“The symposium titled ‘Remote Sensing for Ecosystem Analysis and Fisheries’ will explore ways to apply the remote sensing techniques, a highly prospective facility, in the areas such as aquaculture; harvest fisheries; fisheries management; fishery environment and ecology; fresh water, estuarine and marine fisheries; and socio-economics and ICT”, said Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Director of the CMFRI.

The roadmap finalised by the meet would help refine the existing technologies in country’s marine fisheries sector and to introduce newer methods to accelerate the growth rate of the sector, said.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will inaugurate the symposium at 10 am on Monday. Dr J K Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries) of the ICAR will preside. Dr B Meenakumari, Chairperson of the National Biodiversity Authority Lasse H Pettersson from the Nansen Environmental Remote Sensing Centre, Norway, Dr Rodney M Forster from the University of Hull, the United Kingdom and Prof. N R Menon, Chairman of the Nansen Environmental Research Centre-India will speak on the inaugural session of the meet.

A special stakeholder meet on disaster management will be held at 10.30 am on the last day (Jan 17) of the symposium with an aim to strengthen the communication mechanism of cyclone forecasts and other warnings into the fishermen and improving the disaster management system in Kerala. Minister for Fisheries J Mercykutty Amma will be the Chief Guest of the meet which will be attended by fishermen, policy makers and experts from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service (INCOIS), Kerala Disaster Management Authority and the CMFRI.

Around 300 delegates from across the globe will attend the symposium that will have 10 technical sessions. An exhibition showcasing the latest technologies of around 20 research organisations, including ISRO and INCOIS will be held on the side lines of the symposium.

Image Credit: Salt Strong