Livelihoods of about 1.8 crore people involved in the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Bangladesh have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers found.

Fish farmers are bearing the brunt of the crisis as the incomes of 86 per cent of them dropped, the researchers said in a study report titled "Impact of novel coronavirus pandemic on aquaculture and fisheries in developing countries and sustainable recovery plans: Case of Bangladesh".

The report was published in the United Kingdom-based journal Marine Policy recently. It said that the pandemic had hurt the earnings of 85 per cent of fishers.

The report blamed the restriction on movement, activities and businesses at the early stage of the pandemic for the sufferings confronting fishers and related stakeholders.

The increased transportation cost and the sharp rise in the price of feed and ingredients have worsened the financial condition of the people in the sector.

Besides, harvesting the fish while maintaining social distance was almost impossible, impacting the overall fish production adversely.

About 43.8 lakh tonnes of fish are produced annually in Bangladesh, which ranks fifth in aquaculture and third in inland open water capture fish production in the world.

Besides, 84 per cent of fish traders were impacted slightly or severely due to the pandemic, the report said.

"The fishers and small-scale fish farmers, most of whom are poor, are among the worst-affected by the pandemic," said Md Monirul Islam, chairman of the Department of Fisheries at the University of Dhaka.

Monirul, along with Makidul Islam Khan, a research associate at the department of oceanography at the DU, and Aparna Barman, a research associate at Sustainability Services Ltd, carried out the study on 350 stakeholders across the country from June to November last year.

About 74 per cent of the survey participants said the pandemic had impacted fish consumers despite the price reduction. This might be because of the decline in the purchasing capacity of people.

The female household members of about 70 per cent of fishers and 35 per cent of fish farmers cut down on food intake, from three meals to two meals per day, to cope with the adverse situation.

Adolescents and pregnant women suffered due to a lack of nutritious foods and proper treatment, the report said.

The fisheries sector meets 60 per cent of animal protein intake and nutritious diets for around 16 crore people in Bangladesh.

The situation worsened because of the reduction in income due to the shortening of marketing hours, the increasing cost for fish feed and transportation, and the lower price of fish.

About 35 per cent of the fishers reported their debt increased as they could not repay the loan instalment on time.

The restriction on transport and less availability of workers, and difficulty in running operations pushed up the price of feed by 10 to 12 per cent.

Because of the lower prices, fish farmers do not catch fish. They hope that the price will go up once the situation improves. But rearing fish in ponds for a longer than expected period inflicted more cost in terms of foods and maintenance, said Monirul.

And due to the higher price of feed, the farmers used fewer feeds in the ponds, slowing the growth of fish. They also cut the rate of stocking fries.

The pandemic has taken a toll on the export-oriented shrimp aquaculture in the southwestern part of the country because of the disrupted supply chain and a fall in demand and price, impacting the livelihoods of 85 per cent of people.

The price of shrimp has gone down by 20 per cent to 35 per cent.

Before the pandemic, the aquaculture and fisheries sector contributed 3.5 per cent to the gross domestic product and fetched $501 million in exports.

The report suggested an urgent short-term recovery plan to address the immediate needs and a long-term plan to ensure a more durable recovery.

Besides, quantitative and qualitative impact assessments are imperative for long and short-term responses and adaptations, it said.