Tuna locating vessel to survey coastal waters

A Fisheries Survey of India (FSI) vessel to identify the concentration of Yellow fin Tuna, an export variety of fish, in the Bay of Bengal, is now berthed at Fishing Harbour, Kasimedu, near Royapuram.

Acquired recently by the FSI, the vessel `Matsya Drushti’ is known as `Tuna Monofilament Longliner,’ which is used for surveying the marine fishery resources available in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (IEEZ), according to FSI’s zonal director P. Sivaraj.

Tuna fish are known to be high-speed swimmers and so very difficult to locate. The vessel equipped with state of the art gadgets including INMARSAT communication capability, radar and deep-sea equipment can identify the movement of the tuna shoals, Mr Sivaraj said.