The effects of COVID-19 induced lockdown measures on maritime settings of a coastal region

Abstract

The spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) caused an unprecedented implementation of lockdown measures across world's nations. Veneto Region, located in North-Eastern Adriatic Sea was one of the first maritime regions in Italy and Europe subjected to progressive lockdown restrictions. We systematically analyse the effects of national lockdown policies on maritime settings of the region using Automated Identification System (AIS) data from fishing vessels, passenger ships, tanker and cargo vessels collected through the Aqua Alta Oceanographic Tower (AAOT). We derive consequences on vessel activities during the March–April 2020 lockdown, by using a data-driven, comparative spatio-temporal analysis of vessel trajectories. Results show that compared to the same period of 2017, vessel activity were reduced by 69% during the lockdown, fishing activities reduced by 84% and passenger traffic by 78%. We register a restart of fishing activity in the third week of April 2020. We suggest that the presented conceptual and spatial assessment protocol can guide future research on environmental and socio-economic effects of COVID-19 on marine realms and contribute to further interdisciplinary research with other marine scientific fields.