The Effects of COVID-19 Restrictions on Portuguese Small-Scale Fisheries: A Regional Analysis

Abstract There is growing evidence of the differential effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on small-scale fisheries across the world, with predominantly decreased landings during the time of restrictions and substantial negative socio-economic impact. We contribute to this evidence with an analysis of a comprehensive dataset of 5 million first sales of seafood transactions by 3,715 small-scale fishers catching 351 species in Portugal from 2017 to the end of 2020. The analysis shows that the patterns observed in other counties, overall, apply to Portugal, with a decline in reported catch and number of fishers during the lockdown. However, there were notable regional differences. Most interestingly, two regions with historically very high tourism activity recorded a statistically significant increase in reported average daily catch volume per fishing operator during the lockdown, often for high-value species. We discuss these regional differences and potential explanations, as well as their policy implications.