Impact of COVID-19 among small-scale industry fishermen – A mixed methods study from the coastal area of Karnataka

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread and devastating physical, emotional, societal, and economic repercussions among workers in India.

OBJECTIVES:

To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 and to understand the challenges faced and coping mechanism adopted among fishermen community from the coastal area of Karnataka.

METHODOLOGY:

This community-based mixed-methods study included participants from a coastal Karnataka fishermen’s community. Questionnaire based personal interviews collected information on sociodemographics, COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment, and related costs, COVID-19-appropriate behavior and were screened using DASS-21. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted to acquire qualitative data.

RESULTS:

Quantitative data collection involved 107 participants, predominantly males [70.1%], aged between 46–60 years [37.4%] and low socioeconomic status [79.4%]. Among 107, 51 participants reported to have probable COVID-19 symptoms. Around 11% had tested for COVID-19 and two were admitted in hospital with mean hospital stay of seven days. According to DASS-21, 20.6%, 15.9% and 9.3% of participants screened positive for depression, anxiety and stress respectively. Nearly one third of the participants were found to have significant socioeconomic impact. Major challenges faced included loss of livelihood, inaccessibility to health care, repayment of loans, stigma related to COVID-19 and meeting educational expenses of children with one dropping out of college. Activities of local self-help groups in the community and grass root level marketing strategies to sell fish were highly successful in mitigating the impact as a community.

CONCLUSION:

COVID-19 had a significant impact on fishermen community and implies a need for better pandemic and disaster preparedness strategies in the community.

Keywords

Community pandemic self-help groups small scale industry DASS-21 socio economic effects

1 Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency with serious ramifications for the world. In addition to physical and mental health, COVID-19 also has extensive and devastating economic and social consequences for individuals, families, and communities. This pandemic has caused stagnation in all economic sectors, unemployment, job losses, and recessionary dangers on a global scale. Efforts of governments to bring down infection rates have made the issue worse [1, 2].

Micro, small, and medium sectors in India are some of the largest employment generators and catalysts for the socioeconomic development of the country. It was reported in the literature that the effect of COVID– 19 and its implication on the performance of micro, small, and medium-scale industries is immense. They have been facing many issues related to loan repayments, the inability to retain employees, sustain the supply chains, and many more. Reports indicate that COVID-19-related disruptions have reduced earnings in small-scale industries by 20– 50% [3]. The fisheries sector is a key small-scale industry and a vital source of employment, income, and food for millions. The pandemic resulted in changing consumer demands, reduced catch sizes, and disrupted supply chains, and market access. Also affected were logistical issues with transportation and border restrictions resulting in adverse implications to the industry’s personnel, including fishermen, seafood processors, sellers, suppliers, and transport employees. Small-scale fisheries lack the expensive cold storage facilities and other resources that large-scale fisheries have had to adopt during COVID-19 as they are most negatively impacted. Furthermore, they do not have the safety net of social protection programs that large-scale fisheries may have and hence receive low/inadequate aid during a crisis. This is likely to impact the livelihoods, food security, and nutrition of people who rely significantly on fish as a source of animal protein and important micronutrients. A dearth of evidence in the literature about the impact of this pandemic on small-scale industries like fisheries was noted. In light of the paucity of relevant data addressing the difficulties faced by fishermen during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to comprehend the physical, mental, and socioeconomic effects of COVID-19 on this vulnerable group. This understanding will enable us to bridge the gap about the impact of COVID-19 and also aid in devising development plans/policies for fishermen’s communities in the future. Therefore a study was conducted with the following objectives

To assess the physical, psychological, and socioeconomic effects of COVID-19 among a fishermen community from the coastal area of Karnataka

To understand the challenges faced and coping mechanisms that they adopted to mitigate the impact

2 Methodology

This pilot cross-sectional study was conducted in a fishermen’s community located in Dakshina Kannada District of Mangalore, Karnataka for 6 months (March-August 2022). According to the information provided by the Department of Fisheries, a total of 1075 inland fishermen and 69,911 marine fishermen are there in Dakshin Kannada district. For this pilot study, a fishermen’s village with 5000 population was selected. Necessary permission was obtained from the Department of Fisheries, Government of Karnataka, and approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee was obtained for the study. Community mobilization meetings were conducted with local fishermen leaders followed by a selection of project coordinators from local communities. With the help of coordinators of the local community, house-to-house visits were conducted and participants were selected. Study participants included workers involved in the fishing industry (Fishermen, fish processors, head loaders, and sellers) and their family members residing in the community. Data was collected using a mixed methods design- a combination of both quantitative – questionnaire and qualitative-focus group discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews (IDI) techniques. Data was collected from 107 participants using a structured interview schedule, specifically developed for the study. The interview schedule consists of 2 parts namely Part A- Sociodemographic profile and assessment of occupational factors (nature and pattern of work) and Part B – Impact of COVID-19

2.1 The impact was operationally defined and identified as

2.1.1 Physical impact

Persons with a history of COVID-19 infection, co-morbidities, details of COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment including hospitalization

2.1.2 Mental impact

Mental impact was quantified using the DASS 21 Questionnaire which is a 21-item validated questionnaire that examines recent stress, depression, and anxiety. The seven items that constitute each subscale are graded on a 4-point Likert scale, from 0 [did not apply at all] to 3. [Applied to me very much]. More symptomatology corresponds to higher scores. An excellent level of internal consistency is demonstrated by the DASS-21’s overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.959 [4].

2.1.3 Socio-economic impact

Loss of Job, change of place of residence/work due to COVID-19, Disruption of social life, Loss of job/income, Direct and Indirect costs incurred due to COVID-19, expenses related to the current education system for children, and measures to reduce the economic impact.

As there exists no single comprehensive scale to assess the socioeconomic impact due to COVID-19, items were included based on a review of literature and expert opinion. A score of 1 was given for positive response to each assessment item and 0 for no/negative response. Variables like loss of income for participants, loss of income for family members, disruption of social life, and change of place of residence. /work due to COVID-19, financial difficulty to cater to basic needs of living, delayed treatment due to financial constraints, financial difficulty faced due to education of their children such as dropping out from college/school, paying fees, and online mode of education were included. The total score of each participant was assessed and the socioeconomic impact was calculated as [Score obtained/Maximum possible score] * 100. Any participant scoring more than 50% is operationally defined as experiencing significant socioeconomic impact due to COVID-19.

The acquired quantitative data was encoded and entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS ver 23. Descriptive statistics like mean, standard deviation, and proportions were used to describe the data. The odds ratio was calculated. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

2.2 Qualitative data

A topic guide was prepared for qualitative data collection. Information on challenges faced by the community during COVID-19 and corresponding coping mechanisms were collected. In addition, feasible and adaptable grassroots-level interventions were explored. In-depth interviews and Focus group discussions were used to collect data until data saturation was reached. A total of 3 FGD and 7 In-depth interviews were conducted in a community hall in the locality considering the feasibility and convenience of the participants. A total of 31 participants were included in qualitative data collection and each interview lasted for an average of 60– 75 mins. Focus group discussions were conducted with 3 groups separately (Fishermen, fisherwomen, and local leaders/members of self-help groups) to ensure adequate coverage and maintain homogeneity of groups to ensure a non-threatening environment for sharing their honest opinions freely. During discussions, one of the researchers served as moderator and noted down pertinent information. A sociogram was created to ensure equal participation of interviewees. All discussions and discussions were audio recorded with the participant’s permission. The audio recording of the gathered data was transcribed into Kannada and then translated into English by a transcriber skilled in both languages who was not associated with this study. The transcribed audio recordings and written field notes were subjected to thematic analysis. Three researchers independently performed data triangulation to increase the quality of the data. Significant verbatims were also included in the findings.

3 Results

The results of the quantitative analysis are shown in the following sections. Section 1- Sociodemographic characteristics and morbidity Section 2- Impact of COVID-19

3.1 Section -1

3.1.1 Sociodemographic profile of the participants

A total of 107 fishermen were included for quantitative data collection. Among participants, 98 [91.5%] were doing fisheries-related work currently. Others included retired fishermen and wives of fishermen. A majority of them had either a primary/secondary level of education and belonged to low socio-economic status. Nearly 90% of participants had medical insurance. Ayushman Bharat scheme and Manipal insurance scheme were the common insurance packages taken by participants. Details of the Sociodemographic profile are shown in Table 1.

Table 1
Sociodemographic characteristics of fishermen community in Mangalore, 2022 (N = 107)

Demographic characteristics n (%)

Age group

30 years and below 7 (6.6)

31– 45 years 31 (28.9)

46 – 60 years 40 (37.4)

>60 years 29 (27.1)

Gender

Female 32 (29.9)

Male 75 (70.1)

Educational status

No formal education 6 (5.6)

Primary 32 (29.9)

Secondary 26 (24.3)

Higher Secondary 40 (37.4)

Graduate 3 (2.8)

Marital status

Married 93 (86.9)

Single or widow/er 14 (13.1)

Smoking status

Smoker 2 (2%)

Ex-smoker 11 (10%)

Non-smoker 94 (88%)

Tobacco chewing status

Chewer 21 (20%)

Ex-chewer 2 (2%)

Non-chewer 84 (78%)

Alcohol consumption status

Alcoholic 42 (39%)

Ex-alcoholic 8 (8%)

Non-alcoholic 57 (53%)

Type of family

Three-generation/Extended family 15 (14)

Joint family 16 (15.0)

Nuclear family 76 (71.0)

Type of ration card

Above poverty line 21 (19.6)

Below poverty line 85 (79.4)

No Card 1 (0.9)

Total family income in INR as 15000 (10000– 22000)

median (IQR)^*

Status of Medical Insurance

Medical insurance 96 (89.7%)

Present occupation^$

Fishing 74 (69.2)

Fish selling 35 (32.7)

Head loaders 6 (5.6)

Processors 16 (15)

Others 10 (9.3)

Demographic characteristics	n (%)
Age group
30 years and below	7 (6.6)
31– 45 years	31 (28.9)
46 – 60 years	40 (37.4)
>60 years	29 (27.1)
Gender
Female	32 (29.9)
Male	75 (70.1)
Educational status
No formal education	6 (5.6)
Primary	32 (29.9)
Secondary	26 (24.3)
Higher Secondary	40 (37.4)
Graduate	3 (2.8)
Marital status
Married	93 (86.9)
Single or widow/er	14 (13.1)
Smoking status
Smoker	2 (2%)
Ex-smoker	11 (10%)
Non-smoker	94 (88%)
Tobacco chewing status
Chewer	21 (20%)
Ex-chewer	2 (2%)
Non-chewer	84 (78%)
Alcohol consumption status
Alcoholic	42 (39%)
Ex-alcoholic	8 (8%)
Non-alcoholic	57 (53%)
Type of family
Three-generation/Extended family	15 (14)
Joint family	16 (15.0)
Nuclear family	76 (71.0)
Type of ration card
Above poverty line	21 (19.6)
Below poverty line	85 (79.4)
No Card	1 (0.9)
Total family income in INR as	15000 (10000– 22000)
median (IQR)^*
Status of Medical Insurance
Medical insurance	96 (89.7%)
Present occupation^$
Fishing	74 (69.2)
Fish selling	35 (32.7)
Head loaders	6 (5.6)
Processors	16 (15)
Others	10 (9.3)

^*Information available for 100 participants only. ^$Only 98 out of 107 participants are currently involved in fishing-related. Occupation. Numbers are not mutually exclusive.

3.1.2 Pattern of work

Among currently working participants [n = 98], 83 [84.6%] of them had work experience of > 10 years. Mean working hours/day was 8.04±2.5 hrs. with 27 [27.5%] working for more than 8 hours/day. Most participants worked in open spaces and groups of 5 or more members.

3.2 Section II

3.2.1 Impact of COVID-19

Among participants, 64 [59.8%] reported COVID-19-related symptoms. The most common symptoms included cough, fever, throat pain, and diarrhea. Among symptomatic, 46 [71.8%] participants took allopathic treatment at home and 6 [9.3%] took ayurvedic treatment as well. Nearly 50% of them met the WHO clinical criteria for suspected COVID-19. Among participants, 93.5% had completed 2 doses of COVID-19 vaccination. Though vaccine uptake was better among participants, compliance to COVID-19 appropriate behavior was found to be poor among participants with only 39 [36.4%] using masks, 26 [24.3%] washing hands with soap and 11 [10.3%] maintaining social distancing. Poor compliance to COVID-19 appropriate behavior was significantly associated with COVID-19 symptoms [OR 6.6, 2.6– 16.7]. It can be observed from Table 2 that out of 64, 57 [89.1%] did not get tested for COVID-19. Of those tested, 4 were positive for COVID-19 infection and 2 were hospitalized for a mean duration of 7 days. Total direct costs for admission and treatment were Rs. 10000 [Government hospital] and Rs. 60,000 [Private hospital]. It was reported that incurred total indirect costs [loss of wages] of Rs. 3000 and Rs. 40, 000 respectively for those who got admitted.

Table 2
Physical, mental, and socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 among fishermen community in Mangalore, 2022 (N = 107)

Variables N n (%)

Domain 1: Physical health impact

Suspected COVID-19 case^$ 107 51(47.7%)

Tested for COVID-19 64 7 (10.9)

Tested positive for COVID-19^* 7 4 (57.1)

COVID-19 related hospitalization 4 2 (50)

Domain 2: Mental health impact

Screened positive for depression using DASS-21 107 22 (20.6)

Screened positive for anxiety using DASS-21 107 17 (15.9)

Screened positive for stress using DASS-21 107 10 (9.3)

Domain 3: Socioeconomic impact

Disruption in social life in the community 107 51 (47.7)

Reported to have financial difficulty due to COVID-19 107 82 (76.6)

Loss of income 94 85 (90.4%)

Reported to have a partial reduction of wages 94 27 (25.2)

Reported financial difficulty in meeting the educational expenses of their children 41^# 24 (58.5)

No. of participants reported having discontinued their children’s education due to financial constraints 41 1 (2.4)

Median (IQR) cost incurred for purchasing electronic gadgets to support online education (in INR) 15 12,000 (8000– 18000)

Significant socioeconomic impact(>50% score) 107 38 (35.5%)

Variables	N	n (%)
Domain 1: Physical health impact
Suspected COVID-19 case^$	107	51(47.7%)
Tested for COVID-19	64	7 (10.9)
Tested positive for COVID-19^*	7	4 (57.1)
COVID-19 related hospitalization	4	2 (50)
Domain 2: Mental health impact
Screened positive for depression using DASS-21	107	22 (20.6)
Screened positive for anxiety using DASS-21	107	17 (15.9)
Screened positive for stress using DASS-21	107	10 (9.3)
Domain 3: Socioeconomic impact
Disruption in social life in the community	107	51 (47.7)
Reported to have financial difficulty due to COVID-19	107	82 (76.6)
Loss of income	94	85 (90.4%)
Reported to have a partial reduction of wages	94	27 (25.2)
Reported financial difficulty in meeting the educational expenses of their children	41^#	24 (58.5)
No. of participants reported having discontinued their children’s education due to financial constraints	41	1 (2.4)
Median (IQR) cost incurred for purchasing electronic gadgets to support online education (in INR)	15	12,000 (8000– 18000)
Significant socioeconomic impact(>50% score)	107	38 (35.5%)

^$Probable COVID-19 case is defined as per WHO clinical criteria. ^*RT-PCR: 3 and RAT: 1. ^#41 out of 107 participants reported having school-going children at home.

In addition to the expenses related to COVID-19 and treatment, participants had to spend on the educational needs of their children. Online mode of teaching created urgent needs for procuring necessary electronic gadgets like Mobile phones, laptops, and internet facilities for their children who were going to school or college. Nearly 60% of participants reported that they were worried about getting COVID-19/losing wages/inaccessibility for essentials and medical help. Among participants, 38 (35.5%) reported that their sleep was affected due to stress during COVID-19. None of the participants reported a change of place of residence/work due to COVID-19. Details of the impact of COVID-19 are shown in Table 2.

In Table 3, it was reported that self-help groups among their community helped 78 [72.8%] of participants in tiding over the crisis with food kits and medicines free of cost. In addition to self-help groups, 50 [46.7%] of them reported that they received ration products from the Government, and a few received support from NGO/private institutions. To combat the adverse financial situation because of the pandemic, the participants reported that they adopted some strategies to mitigate the financial crisis. Details are in Table 3.

Table 3

Support system available for fishermen to cope with financial difficulties due to COVID-19

Type of agencies that supported fishermen
community during COVID-19^*
Self-help group	78 (72.8)
Government	50 (46.7)
Private	15(14)
Non-governmental organization	2 (1.9)
Strategies adopted to mitigate financial
crisis during COVID-19^*
Borrowing	45 (42.1)
Bank loan	14 (13.1)
Savings	11 (10.2)
Pledging gold	6 (5.6)
Selling assets	2 (1.9)
No steps taken	7 (6.5)

^*Responses are not mutually exclusive.

3.2.2 Challenges faced and coping strategies adopted by the community

The results of Qualitative data analysis are shown in Tables 4 and 5.

Table 4
Challenges faced by the fishermen community due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Themes Subthemes Quotes

Difficulty to cater to basic needs of living 1. Loss of livelihood
2. Food insecurity “If we work and earn daily only, we can live ... That is the actual situation for fishermen here ... We struggled a lot during lockdown”
“Fishing is the only job we know ... If we are asked not to go to sea, how we will survive? When government imposes lockdown, they should think of daily wage laborers also ... ”

Psychological trauma 1. Death of loved ones
2. Inability to perform last rituals of deceased
3. Inability to pay loans “We were not allowed to see my cousin who had COVID and did not allow us to take his last statement. He died in the hospital. He was a renowned person in the town ... all villagers missed to bid him with last rituals which hurt many of us a lot”
“We did not have even food to eat... How will we repay loans? Still, bank people were scaring us saying they would take legal action”
“Private banks gave more problem and they have put compound interest on that they are troubling and torturing us to pay it now”

Challenges related to the education of children 1. Expenses related to online mode of education
2. Inability to pay fees “Too many problems happened for the education of children ... we have two children ... had to pay fees.. purchased mobile for 16000”
“We are sending our children to private school, only then they will learn English..half of our earnings will go into the education of children only”
“Middle class suffer because of 2 reasons ... Education and Health”

Barriers to utilizing healthcare services 1. Fear of institutionalization about being branded as COVID-19 patients
2. Misinformation regarding COVID-19 from media
3. Inaccessibility to health care services “If we go to Government hospital, we know that we would be branded as corona patients”
“We were getting different kinds of information from TV and newspapers which made us feel more afraid of this. They said people are not getting correct medication there”
“We the poor people had to take a boat and go to a clinic which is very far from here. No health center in this area ... Hence they went directly to the medical shop and took the necessary medicine for cold and cough”

Barriers to following COVID-19 appropriate behavior 1. Difficulty to follow physical distancing while at work
2. Fixed attitude that villagers will not succumb to COVID-19
3. Not a felt need of community “Corona cannot affect our health ... Here the atmosphere is very good”
“Putting mask and going to a job is not possible”
“Children were not ready to wear masks but they wanted to go out ... what to do?”

Challenges faced by authorities 1. “Unilateral approach” – while imposing restrictions
2. Unequal distribution of benefits among villagers “We are going to job to run our life while selling fish lathi charge from police was happening ... But for us, we have to run our life, the government will not come for us we have to do something to live ... .”

Themes	Subthemes	Quotes
Difficulty to cater to basic needs of living	1. Loss of livelihood 2. Food insecurity	“If we work and earn daily only, we can live ... That is the actual situation for fishermen here ... We struggled a lot during lockdown” “Fishing is the only job we know ... If we are asked not to go to sea, how we will survive? When government imposes lockdown, they should think of daily wage laborers also ... ”
Psychological trauma	1. Death of loved ones 2. Inability to perform last rituals of deceased 3. Inability to pay loans	“We were not allowed to see my cousin who had COVID and did not allow us to take his last statement. He died in the hospital. He was a renowned person in the town ... all villagers missed to bid him with last rituals which hurt many of us a lot” “We did not have even food to eat... How will we repay loans? Still, bank people were scaring us saying they would take legal action” “Private banks gave more problem and they have put compound interest on that they are troubling and torturing us to pay it now”
Challenges related to the education of children	1. Expenses related to online mode of education 2. Inability to pay fees	“Too many problems happened for the education of children ... we have two children ... had to pay fees.. purchased mobile for 16000” “We are sending our children to private school, only then they will learn English..half of our earnings will go into the education of children only” “Middle class suffer because of 2 reasons ... Education and Health”
Barriers to utilizing healthcare services	1. Fear of institutionalization about being branded as COVID-19 patients 2. Misinformation regarding COVID-19 from media 3. Inaccessibility to health care services	“If we go to Government hospital, we know that we would be branded as corona patients” “We were getting different kinds of information from TV and newspapers which made us feel more afraid of this. They said people are not getting correct medication there” “We the poor people had to take a boat and go to a clinic which is very far from here. No health center in this area ... Hence they went directly to the medical shop and took the necessary medicine for cold and cough”
Barriers to following COVID-19 appropriate behavior	1. Difficulty to follow physical distancing while at work 2. Fixed attitude that villagers will not succumb to COVID-19 3. Not a felt need of community	“Corona cannot affect our health ... Here the atmosphere is very good” “Putting mask and going to a job is not possible” “Children were not ready to wear masks but they wanted to go out ... what to do?”
Challenges faced by authorities	1. “Unilateral approach” – while imposing restrictions 2. Unequal distribution of benefits among villagers	“We are going to job to run our life while selling fish lathi charge from police was happening ... But for us, we have to run our life, the government will not come for us we have to do something to live ... .”

Table 5

Coping strategies adopted by the fishermen community during the COVID-19 pandemic

Themes	Subthemes	Quotes
Individual level strategies	1. Pledging gold/selling valuables 2. Borrowings/taking loans 3. Adopting home-made remedies for COVID-19 symptoms	“For one year we did not pay school fees.. at last, we paid by pledging our gold” “My sister knew to make a Kashaya made up of amla, Jeera, ginger, and other ingredients with jaggery. I had that Kashaya and I felt better in 3 to 4 days”
Community-level strategies through self-help groups	1. Procurement and maintenance of ambulances for emergency purposes 2. Distribution of food kits for free 3. Extending support for the daily living of the migrant population 4. Procurement and distribution of essential items and medicines 5. Support for the education of children in the community 6. Providing loans with flexible timelines for repayment	“The members of Vidyarthi Sangha prepared fresh food each time and supplied them regularly for 45 days. We spent 1,75,000 towards the food preparation during that time”. “Our villagers have high self-respect. Even if they are starving they will never ask outside for food ... so we only prepared and gave them” “We had circulated the phone numbers of all the members of Vidyarthi Sangha and asked them to call and tell us what medicine they need”. “Mahajana Sabha, Bengre, also distributed 25 Kgs of rice to all the 910 families of Thota Bengre”. “We provided loans through our Sangha from 30,000 to 50,000 as per their request. We were never compelled for EMI. They gave in installments. And we gave them a free period of 2-3 months to start their EMI also”. “Then we made an appeal through Nagarika seva Samithi and presented a tentative expenditure for the ambulance van as 5 lakhs and requested all the residents of the village (excluding new people who just then got married and came to settle here), to give their helping hands”
Prevailing social harmony among villagers	Community participation and unity among villagers	“We are very much united. When they feel some of them are in trouble, they come together to help each other”. “We always think of helping people surrounding us”
Field-level marketing strategies	Change over of place of selling fish from markets to flats/houses of the consumers	“Government allowed us to go to flats also. Which helped us a lot during that difficult time ... In each flat, we could sell 30 kg per day”.
Support from Government/NGOS/Private organisation	1. Provision of free ration by government 2. Providing EMI free period for bank loans for three months 3. Permission to carry out fishing for restricted time during lockdown	“The Fisheries Department helped us to work in limited hours which was more helpful than giving food kit and money. We could work and earn to some extent during the difficult times”

4 Discussion

This study examined the effect of the COVID-19 epidemic, various challenges encountered, and coping mechanisms adopted by fishermen in a coastal region in Karnataka. Most of the participants had primary/secondary school education and belonged to a lower socioeconomic background which is comparable with existing literature on the fishermen population from developing countries [4, 5]. It can be observed from the study results that the socio-economic impact was higher compared to the physical or mental impact of COVID-19 on this community. A quick development of a crisis scenario resulted in an unprecedented distortion of the fisheries industry’s demand-supply chain. This coupled with the containment restrictions imposed during COVID-19 posed a serious challenge for livelihood in this unorganized sector. Existing literature has also highlighted that the current pandemic has increased production costs, transportation costs, and declining demand for fish products in several emerging nations. In this study, nearly 90% had reported loss of income due to COVID-19 which is comparable with existing national and international literature. A recent study in the USA showed that more than 80% of the aquaculture enterprises lost sales, jobs, and revenue which aligns with the results obtained in this study [4 , 7]. In India around 16 million people are involved in the fisheries sector and more than 60% of them are directly dependent on it for a livelihood without any alternative source of income [8].

Another important yet neglected aspect covered in this study is the financial difficulty in meeting the educational expenses of the children of the fishermen population with one dropping out of college. The majority of the fishermen had sent their children to private schools paying heavy fees as they perceived that private school education could aid their children in getting good jobs in the future. A recent study done among small-scale fishermen in Indonesia has observed a substantial change in the perspectives of the community towards the education of their children. After realizing the uncertainties in maintaining a regular income, the community started to invest in the education of their children to get better job opportunities outside the fishing sector which ties well with our findings [9]. In this study, 20.6%, 15.9%, and 9.3% screened positive for depression, anxiety, and stress respectively. We have observed similar results among the fishermen population from North India where 25% of the fishers were identified to have psychological impact and anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 [10]. Studies have identified that factors such as loss of jobs, financial challenges, uncertainties regarding the future, difficulties accessing vital supplies, and increasing social isolation played a role in psychological impact which supports these findings [11 –13]. Compared to this study, which was conducted after the pandemic began, a study conducted in a coastal village in south India before the Covid-19 pandemic revealed a prevalence of depression of 14.5% [14]. Another major traumatic experience faced by the community was the sudden and unexpected death of family members and the inability to pay the last tribute to them due to COVID-19. Existing literature shows that performing last rituals helps the family members to survive the critical moment, share grief, receive social support, aid in the detachment process, and reconcile with life which helps to decrease the development of complicated grief [15]. Similar results were obtained in a research conducted in Italy where family members experienced immense psychological trauma as COVID-19 restrictions suppressed funeral rituals and this impeded the bereaved’s ability to deal with their grief in a healthy way [16]. Another significant observation was that even though nearly 50% of the population had COVID-19-related symptoms, only 10% had tested for COVID-19. The probable reasons that emerged during qualitative interviews included the self-limiting nature of the illness, less accessibility to health care, fear of institutionalization, and stigma associated with it. Even though we could not find a similar study exploring the barriers among the fisher population, the results of studies done among the general population are consistent with this study’s findings [17, 18].

Strategies adopted by the population included borrowing, pawning, and selling assets at individual levels to combat the COVID-19 crisis. Also, field-level marketing strategies such as direct home delivery were found to be useful. Existing literature also has shown that unfavourable survival mechanisms such as liquidation of assets are highly followed during financial crises [19]. A recent study of fishermen in several Southeast Asian nations revealed adaptive strategies such as direct fish selling, home delivery services, and online marketing [1, 20]. The activity of self-help groups in the community emerged as the most successful strategy to mitigate the impact of a pandemic. Special populations like fishermen need community-centric sustainable and feasible strategies that can facilitate the alleviation of impact. Current evidence also highlights the role played by self-help groups who emerged as front-line health, social, and economic shock absorbers during crises like COVID-19 [21].

To the best of our understanding, this may be one of the initial studies that investigated in detail different types of impact of the pandemic among this vulnerable population from south India. Mixed methodology helped to understand and provide an explanation for the findings of the quantitative data. It also helped in a comprehensive understanding of ground realities in the field that may not have been captured by quantitative data collection alone. The study presents with few limitations too. Considering that Covid -19 pandemic was still going on during the study period and prevailing Covid-19-related restrictions, we were unable to plan an extensive study including a bigger sample size. Also, it was challenging to draw causal inferences from the data since the study was conducted using a cross-sectional methodology. The operational definition recommended by experts was used to assess the socioeconomic impact; an extensive validity assessment was not carried out.

5 Conclusion

COVID-19 has impacted the fishing community in many ways with, the economic effects being the most noticeable. Self-help group activities in local communities were the most effective grassroots response to COVID-19. This insight will facilitate the closing of the information gap and the development, design, and implementation of intervention methods for disaster readiness that are tailored to individual requirements.

6 Recommendations

The efforts of community self-help groups may serve as a model for use in other similar contexts. Considering that this was a pilot study, the authors recommend studies involving other fishermen villages in the area with a bigger sample size. There is an immediate need to establish sustainable and realistic measures in a post-pandemic situation to compensate for the losses sustained during COVID-19 for this at-risk population, given the uncertainties faced in sustaining a regular income during catastrophes and pandemics. More studies involving different fishermen communities are recommended Priority should be devoted to empowering the fishing community, especially in the areas of education and economic development. Achieving more compliance to COVID-19 acceptable conduct requires implementing strategies considering the community’s perceived requirements.

Conflict of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

007/ROHCS/IHEC/2022, Institutional Ethics Committee, ICMR-ROHC(s).

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Funding

ICMR intramural funding.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Director, ICMR-NIOH, Department of Fisheries and Dakshin Kannada, NITTE K S Hedge Medical College, Mangalore for their support during the study.

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