Kiruba-Sankar R, Saravanan K, Haridas Harsha, Praveenraj J, Biswas Utpal, Sarkar Ritika
ICAR- Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair 744105, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.
Aquaculture. 2022 Feb 15;548:737596. doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.737596. Epub 2021 Oct 23.
The present study was aimed at understanding the impact of COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions on the freshwater aquaculture sector of Andaman and Nicobar archipelago (ANI). We interviewed the freshwater fish farmers ( = 211) covering all the three districts (North and Middle, South Andaman, Nicobar district) of the archipelago. The results revealed the critical issues faced by the stakeholders such as fish seed unavailability, limitations in feeding, insufficient logistical support, movement related restrictions, lack of inputs, manpower shortages, etc. as the important constraints during lockdown. Our surveys also revealed that there was a significant reduction in the income of the farmers post COVID-19 outbreak ( < 0.001). Possible reform strategies that could promote the sector development and resilience were outlined to recover from the COVID-19 impacts. The study also highlights the significance of effective networking among the stakeholders and necessary preparedness measures to be undertaken by the fish farmers to deal with the exigencies. The study also recommends a policy framework to strengthen the planning and management of freshwater aquaculture sector towards the path of sustainability.
本研究旨在了解与新冠疫情相关的限制措施对安达曼和尼科巴群岛（ANI）淡水养殖部门的影响。我们采访了该群岛所有三个区（北中安达曼、南安达曼、尼科巴区）的211名淡水养鱼户。结果揭示了利益相关者在封锁期间面临的关键问题，如鱼苗供应不足、投喂受限、后勤支持不足、出行相关限制、投入品短缺、人力短缺等，这些都是重要制约因素。我们的调查还显示，新冠疫情爆发后养殖户的收入大幅下降（<0.001）。为从新冠疫情影响中恢复过来，概述了可能促进该部门发展和恢复力的改革策略。该研究还强调了利益相关者之间有效联网的重要性以及养鱼户应对紧急情况所需采取的准备措施。该研究还建议建立一个政策框架，以加强淡水养殖部门的规划和管理，使其朝着可持续发展的道路迈进。
