Covid-19 is affecting our lives and businesses in a huge way. With regional and international food and agricultural value chains severely disrupted, seafood is caught in the eye of the COVID-19 storm. The market is expected to lose steam before recovering to reach a projected global market size of US$138.7 billion by 2027.
During the first period of the pandemic, businesses selling into Chinese market - one of the biggest export nations - may have experienced initial impacts from COVID-19 as early as January but these were minimal. It was not until February - when cases rapidly increased in China and began to spread to Europe that the seafood businesses started to feel the impacts and the government embarked on lockdowns and trade restrictions. The impacts of COVID-19 on the fisheries and aquaculture food systems vary, and the situation is rapidly evolving.
Prices and the supply had some extreme alterations.
Shrimp, for example, are selling for a mere 10% of their normal price in certain ports in northern Spain. Similarly, dramatic price drops have been registered for fresh salmon, trout and cod exported from northern Europe and Chile to North America.
Massive flight cancellations have hurt trade in some high-end fresh seafood products. Maldivian tuna exports to Europe, for example, have been halted. Argentina’s fish and seafood exports to Spain, Italy and China have fallen by 30% since the outbreak. And Indian shrimp consignments to China have dropped by 10% to 15%.
For coastal communities, such as those living in the Mediterranean region or in small island nations, fishing is their lifeline. Tourism, which has also been heavily affected by the pandemic, tends to be the only economic alternative for fishers in these countries.
Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 (e.g. closure of food services, cessation of tourism, reduction of transport services, trade restrictions, etc.) have caused disruption in both domestic and international supply chains. The fact that live, fresh or chilled fish, which represent 45 percent of fish consumed, are highly perishable products presents additional logistical challenges. Furthermore, widespread containment measures can have a notable impact on nations that trade significant amounts of seafood, reducing foreign incomes or threatening food security. Keeping the supply chain open is fundamental to avoid a global food crisis.
Safety for fishery and aquaculture products:
Fish and fish products are a key component to a healthy diet and are safe to eat. Misleading perceptions in some countries have led to decreased consumption of these products. Yet, coronavirus cannot infect aquatic animals (finfish, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs), therefore these animals do not play an epidemiological role in spreading COVID-19 to humans.
While there is no evidence of viruses that cause respiratory illnesses transmitted via food or food packaging, fishery and aquaculture products can become contaminated if handled by people who are infected with COVID-19 and are who are not following good hygiene practices. Seafood will remain a healthy food option and an indulgent treat and mainstay of salads in luxury dinners and food parties. For this reason, as before COVID-19, it is important to emphasize the need to implement robust hygiene practices to protect fishery and aquaculture products from contamination.
Policy recommendations:
In addition to extending the season and phasing out capacity-enhancing subsidies, the report provides the following policy recommendations:
● Keep up the fight against illegal fishing, relying as much as possible on electronic monitoring and surveillance systems supported by targeted inspections and missions at sea and in ports.
● Exercise due restraint in scaling up trade protectionism disguised as sanitary measures in seafood value chains.
● Support the transition from fresh fish to value-added processed seafood products where feasible, to offer new economic opportunities to those working in the sector.
● Enhance coordination between fish and seafood suppliers and transport, warehousing and logistical services to minimize loss of produce and food waste.
Better management of blue economic sectors, which include tourism and maritime transport, is essential to achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular goal 14, which seeks to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources.
References
Coronavirus response: Fisheries and aquaculture. (2020, March 31). Fisheries - European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/coronavirus-response-fisheries-and-aquaculture_en
COVID-19. (n.d.). Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. https://www.sustainablefish.org/COVID-19
Fisheries, aquaculture and COVID-19: Issues and policy responses. (n.d.). OECD. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/fisheries-aquaculture-and-covid-19-issues-and-policy-responses-a2aa15de/
Q&A: COVID-19 pandemic - impact on fisheries and aquaculture. (n.d.). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/2019-ncov/q-and-a/impact-on-fisheries-and-aquaculture/en/
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