The mobile application, Sagara, launched by the fisheries department to ensure safety of fishermen at sea had its district-level inauguration at Thoppumapady on Monday. The function, which was attended by more than hundreds of members of fishermen community, was inaugurated by Kochi MLA K J Maxi. ‘Sagara’ is aimed at providing security to fishermen who venture out into the sea. Through this application, crew in fishing boats can provide details about the members on board, the expected direction and distance that the boats will set sail to and also mention the time when they return. This information, which can be accessed by the fisheries department officials, will act as a monitoring system and can be used for rescue works in case of any emergency. Though the mobile application was initially launched in the state a few months ago, officials in the fisheries department in Kochi said that there were only a few takers for the application. The district-wise inauguration is aimed to make the usage of the mobile application common among the fishermen community. “Of the 1,600 boats in the district, only about 350 fishing boats have so far used the application,” said additional director of fisheries department at Vypeen Joice Abraham. To make the application more popular among the fisherfolk in the district, the fisheries department is planning to conduct awareness classes in assocation with different harbours. “The department is determined to make at least 1,000 fishermen register in this application by this week,” added Abraham. As an initial step, an awareness class was conducted soon after the launch at Thoppumpady. Registration of fishing boats by fisheries department is being done using a software called ‘Realcraft’. To receive login ID and password for using the mobile app, boat owners have to register first in ‘Realcraft’. Owners of the registered boats also have to update their mobile numbers for which the fishermen can contact the nearest fisheries office. Sagara, which can be used in various Indian languages, can be downloaded for free from Google Play Store.