10 Uses of the GPS for Fishermen

This was written for broadcast through Community Radio Benziger, Kollam, Kerala, as part of the community service project of Rotary Club of Tangasseri, Quilon. This is the first of a series of programs targeted at fishermen and fishing communities around Kollam by the Rotary club.

10 Uses of the GPS for fishermen 

1. To know how far you are from home and find the shortest way back home

2. To save fuel by taking the shortest distances to destinations - straight line routes

3. To return to a known fishing ground

4. To mark dangers at sea like submerged rocks, shallow patches, wrecks etc

5. To mark the location of an accident like collision with a ship, man overboard, drowning or capsize

6. To plot routes to regularly visited reefs and fishing grounds (particularly for hook and line fishermen)

7. To provide information about location at sea to search and rescue teams in times of emergencies

8. To find set and drift by observing the deviations from plotted route

9. To know estimated time of arrival at known locations

10. To know the actual speed of the boat

10 Precautions Before Going out to Sea in the Monsoon

This was written for broadcast through Community Radio Benziger, Kollam, Kerala, as part of the community service project of Rotary Club of Tangasseri, Quilon. This is the first of a series of programs targeted at fishermen and fishing communities around Kollam by the Rotary club.

10 Precautions Before Going out to Sea in the Monsoon

1. Ensure engines are serviced and prescribed oils are in use.

2. Ensure the hull of the boat is in good condition - check for cracks and leaks and get them fixed before the monsoon.

3. Listen to weather broadcasts on radio regularly..

4. Always fish in sight of another boat. DO NOT fish in isolation.

5. Carry a good flashlight and ensure one all-round light is always burning during periods of darkness.

6. Ensure one person remains awake during night time. While fishing at night, the men can take turns in keeping awake ensuring everyone gets some sleep and rest.

7. Ensure all loose equipment in the boat is secured and the anchor and rope is carried at all times.

8. Be alert for abnormal, unexpected changes in the weather specially during the onset and the end of the monsoon.

9. Ensure there's sufficient fuel and essential spares and tools for the engine.

10. Do not consume alcohol while on a fishing trip.

India's First Marine Weather Forecast on Radio

From The Hindu
KOLLAM, July 9, 2012

Labour Minister Shibu Baby John, on Sunday, inaugurated a programme which provides daily marine weather forecasts for seagoing fishermen in Kollam district. The forecast will be broadcast thrice a day through Radio Benziger, a Kollam-based community radio station. In his address, Mr. John said he would strive to extend this ‘unique initiative’ across the State. Kollam Bishop Stanley Roman delivered the benedictory address and Mayor Prasanna Earnest spoke.

The broadcast, the first of its kind in the country, is expected to benefit at least 20,000 fishermen of the district and several migrant fishermen operating from the harbours of Tangasseri, Shakthikulangara and Neendakara in addition to several minor fish landing sites along the Kollam coast.

John Thekkayyam, the architect of the programme, said that in spite of having a 7,500-kilometre coastline and a marine fisher folk population of 3.57 million spread across more than 3,000 marine fishing villages in the country, there was no regular marine weather broadcast for fishermen.

He said that all weather forecasts were directed at farmers and the general public. This, despite the fact that marine fishermen worked in an environment where the weather had the potential to turn hostile any moment. Such weather broadcasts were common in developed countries, he added

Mr. Thekkayyam, a former merchant navy navigation officer, said marine weather data received from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services would be translated into simple Malayalam for being broadcast through Radio Benziger.

The programme is conceived and promoted by the Rotary Club of Tangasseri. The broadcasts, which will forecast swell, wind, and tides, will be in the morning, noon and at night for the next 24 hours.

But if wind with a speed of more than 38 km an hour is forecast, it will be broadcast frequently.

Safety tips

Club president Shaji Vishwanath and secretary Lester Fernandez said that in addition to the weather forecast, the club would also provide sea safety tips for fishermen through Radio Benziger. These broadcasts will be available to fishermen residing along the Kollam coast from Thanni in the south to Azheekkal in the north and for more than 30 km into the sea.