Gladius Mini Drone introduced by “Shop N Go” has proved to be an exceptionally useful equipment in the development of the fishing industry for modern day fishermen of Addu City.
The drone comes with a 100ft tether which makes it easy for fishermen to submerse the drone in underwater, without having to dive to find bait.
The first fishing boat to use this submersible drone in Maldives is “Meera” boat from Maradhoo, Addu City. The Gladius Mini will further enhance the ultra-modern fishing techniques used by “Meera” boat. In addition to Meera, Maradhoo’s “Rahaa” and “Raskuri” boat have also started using the drone for an easier and convenient fishing experience.
“Since we don’t have many divers, before the main obstacle was diving for bait. But being able to use the drone for finding bait has made it very easy”, said the captain of “Meera” boat.
Meera boat, which has been using the latest and most highly advanced technology in fishing says that now they submerse the drone underwater to check for bait, and use nets to catch them once the location of bait has been identified.
“It’s been a year since we have been catching bait from 50 metres underwater. But now with this drone, we can easily catch bait from 100 metres underwater”, said the captain.
Speaking about the underwater drone, owner of “Shop N Go”, Ali Adil said that although the drone was introduced and first sold with a 100 metre tether, now a 200 metre tether option has also been introduced as many people wanted to dive even deeper to catch bait.
The Gladius Mini comes with a two-hour battery span and one-year warranty as well as safety bags. Adil said that they are working on establishing a service centre for the drone in Addu City in the near future.
The drone, which was introduced to the market on 03rd December last year is now being used by three boats of Addu City. Additionally, four boats of Huvadhu Atoll have also started using this drone for fishing, said Adil.
“Usually what fishermen do is locating the areas where bait are likely to be found using Fish Finder, and then going diving to those areas to check for bait. If they find bait, they mark the position and return back at night with lights. So they have to go diving twice. Usually in such cases, it is not safe to dive without leaving a 24 hour break in between the two dives. Recently in Thinadhoo also seven divers were treated for decompression after going diving like that. With the drone, we can check for bait without having to go diving. This is a very big convenience for fishermen using modern technology”, said Adil.
The Gladius Mini, which is manufactured by Chasing-Innovation Technology Co., LTD., is imported and distributed officially by Shop N Go. The price of this drone is MVR 24,500.
Shop N Go retails and wholesales a variety of such equipment used in watersports. While Shop N Go imports and distributed products from 27 brands in Maldives, all their products are available for purchase on www.shopngo.com.mv If you are interested in purchasing a mini underwater drone, you can contact +960 7774681 for more information.
