Impacts of COVID-19 on at-sea data collection and regulatory activities and fisheries catches off Namibia

Victoria Ndinelago Erasmus; Vasana Tutjavi; Abisai Konstantinus; Toivo Uahengo; Stanley Ndara

doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2022.102519

Impacts of COVID-19 on at-sea data collection and regulatory activities and fisheries catches off Namibia

Reg Stud Mar Sci. 2022 Sep:55:102519. doi: 10.1016/j.rsma.2022.102519. Epub 2022 Jun 30.

Authors

Victoria Ndinelago Erasmus¹, Vasana Tutjavi², Abisai Konstantinus³, Toivo Uahengo⁴, Stanley Ndara¹

Affiliations

¹ Fisheries Observer Agency, 1st Street East, P O Box 2903, Walvis Bay, Namibia.
² Falkland Islands Government, Fisheries Department, Bypass Rd, P O Box 598, Stanley, Falkland Islands.
³ Ndatara Surveys, P O Box 7227, Swakopmund, Namibia.
⁴ Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, corner of Uhland and Goethe Street, Private Bag 13355, Windhoek, Namibia.

Abstract

This study was undertaken to: (i) comprehend the observers' perceptions of COVID-19 and identify its impacts on the observation of harvesting, handling, and processing of marine resources, and biological data collection during commercial fishing, (ii) assess the risk of contracting COVID-19 onboard the fishing vessels, (iii) compare fishery catches for the pre-COVID-19 (2018 and 2019) and COVID-19 (2020 and 2021) years, and (iv) suggest possible ways to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on the activities of at sea-observations and data collection. Thus, 45 Namibian fisheries observers were interviewed by telephone to capture their perceptions of COVID-19 on the sea-observations and biological data collection. Messrooms were the riskiest places (45.7%) onboard the fishing vessel where observers perceived likely to contract COVID-19. For at-sea observations, 57.1% of the respondents felt that COVID-19 has negatively impacted observations as fisheries observers were risk-averse, especially in the processing factories. Half of the participants purported a negative impact on the collection of biological data, as on some vessels fisheries observers were not permitted to sample the fish supposedly for fear of cross-contamination. Analysis of fisheries observation data and fisheries catch data showed a significant difference in the total number of fishing trips made between 2018 and 2021 (X $^{2} = 145.34$ , df $=$ 3, p < 0.05), with a notable reduction in 2020 fishing trips. Similarly, the number of observed fishing trips between 2018 and 2021 differed significantly (X $^{2} = 136.80$ , df $=$ 3, p < 0.05). Fishing catches were lowest in 2020, possibly reflecting severe impacts of COVID-19 in that year. Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on at-sea observation and data collection can inform decision makers to improve management of marine resources during COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from this study can also serve as a lesson for nations that use observer data for stock assessment.

Keywords: At-sea observation; COVID-19; Fisheries observer; Fishing; Namibia.