Economic Consequences of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on Fisheries in the Eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus)

Fisheries are among the sectors hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) crisis due to the sudden decrease in the demand for seafood. This study employs demand-driven and supply-driven input-output models to conduct an economy-wide assessment of the contraction of the fisheries activities in Cyprus, as well as a questionnaire survey to reveal fishermen's perceptions of COVID-19 crisis impacts. The results at the macroeconomic level reveal that the contraction in the economic output of the fisheries sector does not have any significant impact on the wider economy due to the small size of the sector. However, the COVID-19 crisis has major negative effects on fishermen's income and the livelihoods of fishers' households. The average gross margin of the interviewed fishermen for March 2020, i.e., the month where a national quarantine and lockdown was imposed, was four times less the average monthly gross margin for the winter period (December 2019-February 2020) and 2.5 times less compared to the average monthly gross margin of 2019. The recessionary impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in conjunction with the chronic challenges that fisheries are currently facing in Cyprus, negatively affect the viability of the sector.