Bhubaneswar: For fishermen along Odisha’s 480-km coastline, the sea has always been unpredictable.
A boat setting out from Paradip may return in four days with a good catch or spend nearly two weeks at sea, travelling as far as West Bengal or Andhra Pradesh.
Every trip involves substantial spending on diesel, food and drinking water, while families ashore often remain uncertain about their safety and progress.
That uncertainty is gradually easing as mobile connectivity reaches farther into the sea. With the Jio network covering parts of Odisha’s coast and extending several kilometres offshore, fishermen can now stay in touch with their families and shore-based businesses even while at sea.
For Paradip fisherman Harekrushna Mallik, who has spent years navigating these waters, the ability to call home is a simple but meaningful change. It allows him to speak to his family and know that they are safe.
Connectivity has also changed how he works.
Mal lik can inform his boat owner and family when the vessel is returning, giving them time to prepare. He can also exchange information about fishing conditions and areas where fish are being found, helping make each trip more planned and productive.
During bad weather, communication can be particularly important. Boat owners can alert crews about approaching cyclones or depressions, giving fishermen more time to respond.
“Being able to stay connected ensures our safety at sea,” Mallik said. For Paradip-based fishing boat owner Gyana Ranjan Mohanty, who operates two boats, connectivity has brought greater visibility to a business traditionally marked by uncertainty.
He can receive regular updates from crews about the quantity and quality of their catch, and sometimes even see it through video calls from the sea. Such information helps him prepare before a boat reaches shore.
He can arrange ice, pack ageing and unloading labour in advance and alert buyers so the catch can be moved quickly, reducing delays and wastage. Diesel, ice and labour account for significant fishing costs, and delays or a poor catch can affect the economics of an entire trip.
Timely information, Mohanty said, helps him plan operations more efficiently. For Odisha’s fishing communities, connectivity cannot change the weather or determine the size of a catch.
But it can reduce some of the uncertainty of life at sea – keeping fishermen connected with their families, helping them respond to changing conditions and allowing shore-based businesses to plan ahead.
For generations, fishermen have ventured into unpredictable waters.
Today, they can do so with a stronger link to the shore.