The COVID-19, social isolation, artisanal fishery and food security: How these issues are related and how important is the sovereignty of fishing workers in the face of the dystopian scenario

Abstract

In a word widely connected in which the sanitary barriers are scanty to prevent the dissemination of biological agents dangerous to human health, knowing how epidemics and their effects affect the humanity is an important theme. In this study, it is analyzed how the Coronavirus propagation in Brazilian territory, making arise the social isolation (SI) among several sectors of society have increased the hard situation of small-scale fishery sector and its self-sustainability. The debate is focused at the social-fishery environment occurring in great urban centers, for example Salvador city, Bahia where exist a demand for fishery resources from small-scale fishery activity. The SI recommended by Brazilian government has led to decrease at the search of products from small-scale fishers. Thus, interviews were applied to fishers and shell-collectors acting in coastal zone of Salvador so that allows known the ongoing worrying scenario that affect the fishers. The consumer sector of fishery products (e.g., composed by single persons to small markets and sale centers) do not presents the former dynamic of trade, directly impacting the fish supply and fishing efforts. On the other hand, the fishers need keep their activities to provide protein sources to their family cores and community, underscoring issues of food security. As the actions to stop the advance of the Coronavirus epidemic are adopted by Brazilian government, measures to safe the livelihood of these fishery communities must be thought and applied. Applies the United Nation Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guidelines in order to guarantee a sustainable small-scale fishery within assumption of food security and poverty eradication can be the first steps to deal with the new scenario imposed over the fishery societies.