<strong>Assessing Impacts of COVID-19 on Aquatic Food System and Small-Scale Fisheries in Bangladesh</strong>

Abstract

COVID-19 is now a major global health crisis, can lead to severe food crisis unless proper measures are not taken. Though a number of scientific studies have addressed the possible impacts of COVID-19 in Bangladesh on variety of issues, problems and food crises associated with aquatic resources and communities are missing. Therefore, this study aimed at bridging the gap in the existing situation and challenges of COVID-19 by linking its impact on aquatic food sector and small-scale fisheries with dependent population. The study was conducted based on secondary data analysis and primary fieldwork. Secondary data focused on COVID-19 overview and number of confirmed, recovered and death cases in Bangladesh; at the same time its connection with small-scale fisheries, aquatic food production, demand and supply was analyzed. Community perceptions were elicited to present how the changes felt and how they affected aquatic food system and small-scale fisheries and found devastating impact. Sudden illness, reduced income, complication to start production and input collection, labor crisis, transportation abstraction, complexity in food supply, weak value chain, low consumer demand, rising commodity prices, creditor&amp;rsquo;s pressure were identified as the primary affecting drivers. Dependent people felt the measures taken by the Government should be based on protecting the health and food security, although it could be detrimental to economic growth in the short term. The study provides insight into policies adopted by the policy makers to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on aquatic food sector and small-scale fisheries.

Multisectoral one health approach to make aquaculture and fisheries resilient to a future pandemic‐like situation

“…Thus, most fish vendors refused to purchase fish from the fishers due to lack of suitable chilling facilities during the COVID‐19 restrictions. Reports indicate that lack of income from fish sales due to shutdowns and mobility restrictions caused the artisanal fishers to tap their meagre savings to run households and purchase essential sanitary items such as soap and face‐masks (Jomitol et al., 2020; Sunny et al., 2020). Since SSFs depend on the daily income to run their households, inability to support family needs due to the restrictions on fishing may seem unjust to some and even cause social unrest (CFFA, 2020a).…”

Understanding Livelihood Characteristics and Vulnerabilities of Small-scale Fishers in Coastal Bangladesh

“…km and a population of about 140 million 1 . Inland open water capture fisheries production Bangladesh ranks third and fifth in aquaculture production in the world 2 .At present, Bangladesh ranks 4th in the world in tilapia production and 3rd in Asia 3 . 60% of the total Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) in the world also comes from Bangladesh (Sunny et al, 2019a;Sunny et al, 2017).Hilsa supports 11% of total national production (394, 951 MT) and contributes 1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Bangladesh 4,5,6 .…”

“…Small-scale fishers are considered as one of the most vulnerable communities in Bangladesh although support about 12 million people directly and indirectly 10 . They live from hand to mouth and are recognized as the poorest of the poor 2,11,12 . Most of the fishers are landless, poor and fully dependent on fishing for their livelihoods.…”

The Response of Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) due to the Impact of Pandemic COVID-19 on Indian Agriculture Sector

“…Demand suggests the readiness and capacity of purchasers to pay cash for a specific decent or administration, during a specific period [40,41] . The interest for food has diminished because of vulnerability and the decrease of individuals' spending limit, in spite of the fact that this reduction is yet slight; the circumstance could intensify if the pandemic proceeds for quite a while, because of diminished salary and employment misfortunes [42,43] .…”