Kochi, July 27 (IANS). Taking an important step towards promoting marine conservation and digital technology, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has launched two technology-based platforms. Their objective is to raise awareness about the conservation of endangered sharks and rays and to ensure compliance with related rules.
On Monday, the institute launched the ‘Shark Aware’ mobile app and an interactive e-learning module. This is considered an important step towards strengthening the conservation of marine biodiversity and promoting the use of digital technology in this sector.
State Fisheries Minister V.E. Abdul Ghafoor launched both these initiatives at the CMFRI headquarters in Kochi.
Developed with financial assistance from the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), the platform aims to help fishermen, fisheries department officials, wildlife conservation agencies, researchers and students correctly identify protected species of sharks and rays. This is expected to ensure better compliance with conservation rules.
This mobile app provides detailed information on protected sharks and rays included in Schedule-1, Schedule-2 and Schedule-4 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (as amended in 2022).
Apart from species identification, this app provides users with simple language information about scientific information related to these marine creatures, the legal protection they receive, rules related to international trade and the environmental importance of their conservation.
Dr. Livi Wilson, Senior Scientist, Department of Finfish Fisheries, CMFRI, who led the project, said that this app has been designed with the aim of bridging the gap of information among the people associated with marine fisheries and wildlife conservation.
“This app will help people correctly identify protected sharks and rays, and will also strengthen efforts to effectively enforce the Wildlife Protection Act and conserve these species,” he said.
Hopefully this app will soon be available on Google Play Store. An interactive online learning module has also been created to enable users to take training at their convenience through quizzes, instant assessments and tracking of their learning progress.
This digital platform provides information on the Wildlife Conservation Act, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), species identification methods, and the importance of conservation of protected sharks and rays.
This initiative shows CMFRI’s continued emphasis on the use of digital technology to promote sustainable fisheries and biodiversity conservation.
The institute believes that making scientific and legal information easily available will increase awareness among people. This will encourage more people to participate in conservation efforts, follow rules and ensure better protection of endangered marine species.
–IANS
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