Though the intensity with which COVID-19 hit in 2020 appears to have considerably been reduced, interpreting its social and economic impacts has assumed great proportions. Discussing the findings of a study on the ramifications of the pandemic on marine fisheries in Kochi, Kerala, India, on Monday, participants shared a range of both bewildering experiences and positive outcomes that could take the sector forward.
Organised by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), which carried out the study, the discussions covered a variety of topics from increased fish landings in the State, attributed to a forced fishing holiday during the pandemic, to the rapid spread of backyard fish farming and adoption of biofloc techniques.
Fish workers, exporters, processors, boat owners, fisheries scientists, and trade union representatives were part of the discussions. With a large number of women participants, the discussions also brought out the way COVID-19 helped redefine their role in the fisheries sector and how families in the fisheries sector were affected by the pandemic.
Social science researcher Midhila Mallika of ATREE’s Community Environmental Resource Centre said the lockdown during the pandemic made women from the clam fishing community of Alappuzha district’s Muhamma conscious of their gender situations in households and widen their capacity to understand it. At large they have realised the importance of their space in the economy and recognises their work as an employment. Women have traditionally been confined to certain spaces in clam fisheries in what is largely a close to home livelihood activity.
Nisha Raj, vocational fisheries teacher at the GRST VHSS, Thevara, said the COVID-19 period helped trigger a great interest in homestead fish farming. Farming both ornamental fish and fish for food came to be taken up widely, and the trend continues even now. The idea of family fish farming to achieve self-sufficiency in food production came to be more widely appreciated during the pandemic period, she said as she pointed out that more people also came forward to learn fish culture.
Shyam S. Salim, principal scientist at CMFRI, who led the study team, said in his introductory remarks that “the pandemic had taught us a lot of lessons and helped introduce new ideas.” For instance, he said, the lockdown period saw online fish marketing spread its wings. The pre-pandemic level of fish landings in Kerala in 2022 (around 6.8 lakh tonnes) looks like the result of a (forced) fishing holiday during the pandemic lockdown period.
The study covered the nine coastal States in the country, said Dr. Salim. The rapid impact assessment of COVID-19 was supported by the Indian Council for Social Science Research. It is estimated that the fisheries sector lost around ₹10,000 crore due to the pandemic.
Alex Ninan, seafood exporter, said India looked to have set a record of ₹47,000 crore worth seafood exports, mostly supported by aquaculture. But he said the international market and demand had shown a slowdown.
Trade union leaders from the traditional fisheries sector like Jackson Pollayil and Charles George called for strengthening the marketing system and government intervention and increasing the role of cooperatives to ensure remunerative price for fishermen. Similar opinion was expressed by M. Najeeb, a coordinator of fishing activities at the Thoppumpady Fisheries Harbour, one of the largest such facilities in the country.