Fisheries are among the sectors hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) crisis due to the sudden decrease in the demand for seafood. This study employs demand-driven and supply-driven input-output models to conduct an economy-wide assessment of the contraction of the fisheries activities in Cyprus, as well as a questionnaire survey to reveal fishermen’s perceptions of COVID-19 crisis impacts. The results at the macroeconomic level reveal that the contraction in the economic output of the fisheries sector does not have any significant impact on the wider economy due to the small size of the sector. However, the COVID-19 crisis has major negative effects on fishermen’s income and the livelihoods of fishers’ households. The average gross margin of the interviewed fishermen for March 2020, i.e., the month where a national quarantine and lockdown was imposed, was four times less the average monthly gross margin for the winter period (December 2019–February 2020) and 2.5 times less compared to the average monthly gross margin of 2019. The recessionary impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in conjunction with the chronic challenges that fisheries are currently facing in Cyprus, negatively affect the viability of the sector.

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Interactions between fisheries and marine mammals have been well documented in almost all existing fishing gears around the world, often associated with detrimental consequences. Interactions of the endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) with small-scale fisheries have been previously documented in the Mediterranean; this is a problem that seems to be growing in recent years. The present study aims to understand for the first time the nature and extent of interactions between the Mediterranean monk seal and small-scale fisheries in the Republic of Cyprus. The data were collected by conducting in-person semi-structured interviews, between November and December 2020, with 90 fishermen operating from nine different ports, extending throughout the entire coastline of the Republic of Cyprus. The results revealed minimal interactions between the Mediterranean monk seals and small-scale fisheries. The findings indicate that interactions are more likely to occur at depths of less than 10 m, closer to the coast, with the use of trammel nets and gillnets, and during the spring and summer months. The encounter, depredation and incidental capture rates were calculated at 0.01 (0.95%), 0.005 (0.51%) and 0.0004 (0.04%) per fisher, respectively. Spatiotemporal closed areas are proposed as a potential solution to mitigate these interactions.