COVID-19 impacts and adaptation in aquatic food supply chains in Bangladesh - One year into the pandemic

Abstract

In 2020, we conducted a bi-weekly phone survey with 105 fish supply chain actors in Bangladesh, to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the availability and price of aquatic foods and production inputs (Middleton et al 2020). In 2021, we conducted a follow-up survey and re-surveyed 87 participants regarding their activity between the months of March and May. Attrition was due to inability to contact respondents or respondents were unwilling to participate in a second interview. The sample comprised of the following: feed sellers (pellet) (8), feed sellers (non-pellet) (4), fish hatcheries (10), fish farmers (23), fishers (20), fish processors (5), traders (8), and retailers (9). With the global pandemic on the rise, the first national lockdown in Bangladesh was announced in March 2020 as a preventative measure. COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh peaked slightly in June 2020, then more severely in April 2021 and July 2021 (Dong et al 2020). The 2020 data was collected during the first lockdown, and the 2021 data was collected one year later. Our methods allowed for a comparison of impacts and analysis of adaptations to the conditions of COVID-19 one year into the pandemic.