The impact of COVID-19 on Indonesian fisheries conditions: opinion of current status and recommendations

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak has spread rapidly across the world and has affected health, social, and economic impacts in many countries, including Indonesia. This editorial focuses on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fisheries sector in Indonesia along with recommendations on how we should deal with the current status. The pandemic has resulted in several negative impacts on the Indonesian community that is directly related to a significant decline in the demand for fisheries products. A range of problems has been reported, including marketing disturbances, issues related to post-harvest and cultivation cycles, and the livelihoods of small-scale fishermen. To overcome these issues, we provide recommendations for various stakeholders to rapidly mobilize the fisheries sector by assisting MSMEs and by helping to market fishery products online, thus facilitating the export of fishery products. These recommendations are expected to stimulate the fisheries sector to mitigate the long-term effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.