The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), in association with M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), has developed a system that will generate real-time information about the oceans to warn the fishermen about the vagaries of the sea.
Wave Rider Buoy (WRB), a first of its kind initiative, aims at covering nine southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
WRBs, each of which costs Rs 40 lakh, will be anchored in the sea by means of elastic mooring. An “accelerometer” within the buoy will register its rise and fall and analyse the wave patterns and sea surface temperature. The real-time ocean surface monitoring will be integrated with the Isro’s ‘INSAT’ satellite which will beam the information to the MSSRF’s Village Resource Centre at Vedaranya. The centre relays the information, in Tamil, to fish landing centres which in turn alert the fishermen through text messages (SMS).
The project launched here on Tuesday coincided with the MSSRF Foundation Day and the birthday of the eminent Agriculture Scientist M S Swaminathan who inaugurated it in the presence of the former Pakistan Foreign Minister, Prof Sartaj Aziz. The first WRB will be deployed at the Vedaranyam-Kodiyakarai coast in the cyclone-prone and Tsunami-hit Nagapattinam district.
Prof Swaminathan, a key architect of Green Revolution, said the initiative demonstrated the power of science and technology in empowering the poor in the coastal villages. Prof Artaj Aziz hailed Prof Swaminathan’s “monumental contribution” to meet the challenges of hunger and poverty and complemented the scientist for setting up the MSSRF, a model of cooperation between a private research organisation and the state agencies.