Global Seafood Alliance, January 2022
The seafood industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, causing disruptions in supply chains and shifting buyer demand. But according to a new global study of fish farms, the impact of the pandemic hasn’t been “nearly as damaging as the ecological havoc caused by humans.”
The global study, published in Environmental Science & Policy, assessed the impact of COVID-19 on fish farms in more than 50 countries. The findings offer a stark look into the devastating impact global warming is already having on oceans, lakes and rivers across the planet. More than 80 percent of 585 fish farms surveyed worldwide reported that the economic losses from human-caused issues such as climate change, pollution and flooding far outweigh losses from supply-chain disruptions or a loss in buyers caused by the pandemic.
“These businesses have to build resilience to these events in their planning because it’s only going to get worse over time,” said Dr. Brian Helmuth, co-author of the study and a professor of marine and environmental science at Northeastern University.
