MAPUSA
The State government's ambitious plan to deploy drone-based surveillance and digital data management along the State's 193-km coastline to curb illegal and unregulated fishing has hit a roadblock, with the project now awaiting security-related guidelines from the Centre.
The fisheries department said the proposal has been put on hold pending directions from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Union Ministry of Fisheries on the use of drones for coastal surveillance.
"There are some issues regarding security. There will be some guidelines issued by the ministry – the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Union Fisheries Ministry. We are waiting for the guidelines to come," a senior official told The Goan.
The delay comes despite the department having completed much of the groundwork for the project over the past one year.
The fisheries department had invited tenders to appoint an agency for drone-based surveillance and digital data management and also conducted pilot trials along the Goa coast to assess the technology's effectiveness.
During the demonstrations, officials found that the drones were capable of capturing images of fishing vessels up to 20 km offshore and could operate effectively even during night-time.
The proposal envisages deploying two drones – one each for North Goa and South Goa – to strengthen surveillance of Goa's territorial waters and improve enforcement against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.
The system was also expected to digitally record and manage surveillance data, enabling quicker detection of violations and more effective monitoring of fishing vessels operating along the coast.
With the project on hold, the department continues to rely on conventional enforcement measures, including regular patrols by fisheries personnel on land and at sea using departmental patrol vessels.
Goa's wait also stands in contrast to neighbouring Maharashtra, which became the first State in the country to operationalise drone-based surveillance and digital data management for fisheries enforcement.
Maharashtra uses drones to monitor fishing activity along its coastline, with live feeds transmitted to a central control room to identify violations and assist enforcement agencies.
