In a bid to prevent fishermen in the country from venturing into foreign waters accidentally, the  Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is going to provide them with GPS (Global Positioning System) equipment at subsidised prices from the next fiscal.

MPEDA decided to provide the GPS equipment at subsidised price along with fish finder, radio telephone equipment. “Using GPS, they will be aware of the area, where they are not supposed to venture.

The other equipment will help for better communication and also to find their catch easily,” MPEDA director (marketing)  N Ramesh told Express.  Also, MPEDA has decided to help the fisherman in ensuring quality by way fo small changes.

“Normally they procure ice blocks, but crush them on the ground in an unhygienic manner.  The crushed ice is used to store the fish in the hold on ships. So we have decided to provide ice crushers to fish holds, so that the crushed ice will directly go to fish hold without getting contaminated,” he said.