Cell Phones are Saving Odisha Fishermen's Lives, Boosting Their Income

CHAUMUHANI: A fisherman's son and now a fisherman himself, Kulamani Tarai knows all too well that while the sea has provided sustenance to his family for generations, it can also be a cruel and deadly place.

Every morning, when he leaves his mud-and-thatch home on the east coast to venture out on his wooden boat into the Bay of Bengal, he knows there is a chance he will not return.

Deaths of fishermen are common along this coastal belt of Odisha, where calm seas can suddenly turn violent and swallow flimsy boats like his.

But a new state-run voice messaging mobile service for fishermen, which provides weather updates, ocean status forecasts and locations of where to scout for a fish, is trying to change this. It already has more than 200,000 subscribers.

"I know how devastating it is if you are not aware of the weather. During the horrific 1999 super cyclone, hundreds of our fishermen brothers were killed," said Tarai, 59, sitting with other fishermen in the Jagatsinghpur district.

The voice messaging service - a one-minute bulletin sent to subscribers cell phones five times a day - was launched by Odisha's fisheries department in January 2014..

Subscribers get information on potential fishing zones, weather warnings, ocean status forecasts and market rates for fish such as hilsa, mackerel, prawns and shrimps.

Local fisherman have welcomed the service, adding that it has not only helped keep them safe, but also increased their incomes.

"Two years ago, I use to catch only 50 kg of fish daily," said 45-year-old Sanatan Behera, a fisherman at Chilika lake in Odisha's Puri district.

"Now, after I know the exact fish location through the voice message, I am able to catch almost double."