Adaptation and resilience of commercial fishers in the Northeast United States during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Commercial fisheries globally experienced numerous and significant perturbations during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting the livelihoods of millions of fishers worldwide. In the Northeast United States, fishers grappled with low prices and disruptions to export and domestic markets, leaving many tied to the dock, while others found ways to adapt to the changing circumstances brought about by the pandemic. This paper investigates the short-term impacts of the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-June 2020) on commercial fishers in the Northeast U.S. to understand the effects of the pandemic on participation in the fishery and fishers’ economic outcomes, using data collected from an online survey of 258 Northeast U.S. commercial fishers. This research also assesses characteristics of those fishers who continued fishing and their adaptive strategies to the changing circumstances. Analysis of survey responses found the majority of fishers continued fishing during the early months of the pandemic, while a significant number had stopped fishing. Nearly all reported a loss of income, largely driven by disruptions of export markets, the loss of restaurant sales, and a resulting decline in seafood prices. Landings data demonstrate that while fishing pressure in 2020 was reduced for some species, it remained on track with previous years for others. Fishers reported engaging in a number of adaptation strategies, including direct sales of seafood, switching species, and supplementing their income with government payments or other sources of income. Many fishers who had stopped fishing indicated plans to return, suggesting refraining from fishing as a short-term adaptation strategy, rather than a plan to permanently stop fishing. Despite economic losses, fishers in the Northeast U.S. demonstrated resilience in the face of the pandemic by continuing to fish and implementing other adaptation strategies rather than switching to other livelihoods.

Alternative Seafood Networks During COVID-19: Implications for Resilience and Sustainability

“…Our research provides evidence of a temporary re-localization in the seafood system during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which demand for local and directly sourced seafood spiked abruptly. This finding is consistent with recent studies that find evidence that fishers shifted to local and direct sales as a key adaptation strategy during the early months of the pandemic (Pita, 2020;Smith et al, 2021). To date, ASNs have been described as an important strategy for small-and midsize seafood operations to build firm-level resilience (Kittinger et al, 2015;Stoll et al, 2020).…”

“…Alternative seafood networks exist worldwide and were identified as a "bright spot" in both high-and low-income countries during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (Bennett et al, 2020;Gephart et al, 2020;Loring et al, 2020;O'Malley, 2020). For example, in the northeast, United States, Smith et al (2021) found that 60% of the 258 fishers they surveyed reported adapting to local and direct seafood sales during the pandemic. Similarly, in a survey of small-scale fisheries across Europe from more than 105 fishing organizations from 12 countries, Pita (2020) found that 48% of respondents had shifted to direct-to-consumer sales through ASNs.…”

Emerging COVID-19 impacts, responses, and lessons for building resilience in the seafood system

“…Coping and adaptive measures represent early responses during the first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Others have identified adaptations such as switching species harvested, selling to alternate markets, supplementing income from other sources, or temporarily stop fishing ( Smith et al, 2020 ). Short-term coping will remain important as the pandemic spreads and re-emerges in countries.…”

“… Immediate research needs: To complement price and production data, use survey tools to document and better understand COVID-19 impacts on people working at all levels in seafood value chains and seafood consumers in order to direct support to vulnerable actors in the seafood system. Examples of this work include: ( Smith et al, 2020 ; Rosen, 2020 ; van Senten ; Kumaran et al, 2020 ; Campbell et al, 2020 ; Seshagiri et al et al ; Giannakis et al, 2020 ; Steenbergen et al, 2020 ; Sorensen et al, 2020 ) Document and share case-experiences of actors in the value chain that have adapted to shifts in supply and demand of seafood so lessons from their strategies can be more widely adopted. Examples of this work include: ( Stoll et al, 2020 ; Smith et al, 2020 ) Improve open data and data sharing platforms to facilitate the exchange of information about the societal impacts of COVID-19, to enable more rapid and coordinated responses to future shocks.…”

“…Examples of this work include: ( Smith et al, 2020 ; Rosen, 2020 ; van Senten ; Kumaran et al, 2020 ; Campbell et al, 2020 ; Seshagiri et al et al ; Giannakis et al, 2020 ; Steenbergen et al, 2020 ; Sorensen et al, 2020 ) Document and share case-experiences of actors in the value chain that have adapted to shifts in supply and demand of seafood so lessons from their strategies can be more widely adopted. Examples of this work include: ( Stoll et al, 2020 ; Smith et al, 2020 ) Improve open data and data sharing platforms to facilitate the exchange of information about the societal impacts of COVID-19, to enable more rapid and coordinated responses to future shocks. Other fields are also calling for data sharing to respond to COVID-19 ( Moorthy et al, 2020 ; Oliver et al, 2020 ; Foraker et al, 2020 ) Longer-term research needs: To design future response strategies in support of the ‘tropical majority’ of small-scale fish producers and traders, draw on lessons from social safety net programs in other food sectors, and experience with implementing the Human Right to Food Improve information systems to track fish prices and trade volumes typically consumed by different types of consumers (particularly in LMICs) to reduce wasted fish and enable value chains to respond to consumers' nutrition needs and demand preferences.…”