Socio-economic impact of Covid-19 on the fishing sector: A case study of a region highly dependent on fishing in Spain.

Galicia is the most important fishing region in Spain. Nearly 50% of the volume of catches and of the national fishing fleet are concentrated in this region. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the fishing sector had the status of an essential sector and was not forced to stop its activity by the national Government. However, its economic performance has deteriorated in 2020. This article aims to analyze the impact of the pandemic on the extractive fishing sector in Galicia. For this purpose, the performance of the main economic and financial variables of the 246 companies that constitute this industry has been studied. The companies pertain to different extractive sectors (the national, offshore and large-scale fleets) and are in 9 different areas (Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa, Muros, Fisterra, Costa da Morte, A Coruña-Ferrol, Cedeira and A Mariña). The results of the analysis show that the 9 fishing zones share a generalized negative trend but that there is heterogeneity in the results. Among the most determining factors are the predominant fleet extract, the target species caught, or the perception of public subsidies.

Impact of the COVID-19 crisis: Analysis of the fishing and shellfishing sectors performance in Galicia (Spain).

The COVID-19 crisis has had consequences in every area of the Spanish economy. The fisheries and shellfishing sectors in Galicia have been significantly affected due to the measures taken to curb the pandemic. In particular, the closure of the HORECA channel and the confinement of the population have adversely affected the production of fresh fish and shellfish. In this study, a three-stage analysis of the management of the pandemic in Spain has been carried out (confinement, "new normality" and closure of the HORECA channel). The direct and indirect effects of the pandemic have been considered, as well as other factors independent of it, which usually influence production. The results show a decrease in catches, revenue and average price (euros/kg) at first sale of Galician fish and shellfish products over the three study periods, with an incidence level that varies between phases, species, fleet segments and sectors.