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AIS essential for fishermen’s safety

AIS essential for fishermen’s safety

Thursday, 12/1/2023

Photo by Mokhtar Ishak

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Fishermen rely on the sea to provide them with a source of income that will enable them to put food on the table. They are faced with various challenges and danger when out in the open sea, and so fishermen need a safety monitoring system that has been enhanced.

Conventional fishermen use traditional tools to catch fish, and their boats are not equipped with technology.

In Malaysia, there are 102,670 registered fishermen who go to sea to catch fish and supply it to the people. However, the death rate of fishermen has been on the rise due to unavoidable problems, such as bad weather and boat damage.

The absence of a navigational aid on fishermen’s boats will make it difficult to carry out rescue operations in the event of accidents. Thus, a team of researchers has conducted a study on the development of a special application to be used on boats.

Based on the data from the Association of Fishermen of Northern Kuala Terengganu (PNKKTU) registered under the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authorities (LKIM), 641 fishermen are grouped under different zones based on the license they hold. These zones are as follows: Zone A (0-5 BN: <40 GT), Zone B (5- 12 BN: <40 GT), Zone C (12-30 BN: 40-69.99 GT), Zone C2 (30-200 BN: ≥70 GT) and Zone C3 (high sea > 200 BN: ≥70 GT).

However, only fishermen in Zone C, C2, and C3 are required by the authority to install a navigational aid, such as Automatic Identification System (AIS), on their boats.

What about the rest of the fishermen?

Realising the danger and challenges faced by fishermen in Zone A and B, a team of UMT researchers has taken the initiative to organize a knowledge transfer programme on the use of the AIS application for the fishermen still employing traditional fish catching methods.

The social responsibility programme focused on the role of AIS in helping the fishermen with coordination and navigation and also taught them the safety measures to take during emergency.

The awareness of the importance of the use of AIS needs to be instilled among the fishermen, who are household heads that seek income to support the families’ expenses. The whole family will be affected if undesirable events occur while the fishermen are at sea.

There are two types of AIS, which are Class A and Class B. The life span of AIS depends on its use. Static information includes MMSI (registered under Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission), call sign, name of ship, IMO number, type of ship, location of position-fixing antenna, and length, width, and height of ship. Dynamic information includes course over ground (COG), speed over ground (SOG), heading, navigation status, rate of turn (ROT), cargo type, ship’s draught, ETA, and ship’s position with accuracy indication and integrity status.

AIS also functions as an additional tool to avoid ship collision at sea due to limited visibility and as a tool to expedite search and rescue operations as well as assist government agencies in investigation processes. It also enables family members to track the location of the fishermen’s ships or boats using an app on a smartphone.

Assistance in the form of continuous guidance is needed to ensure this group remain dynamic and up to date. Technological advancement allows the fishermen to improve their competencies in fish catching activities and subsequently enhance their families’ quality of life.

Original article in Malay by:

Ts. Dr. Chuah Lai Fatt
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Maritime Studies
and
Siti Nur Jannah Mohamad Faisal
Faculty of Maritime Studies

 

English translation by:

Corporate Communications Office
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu