Conséquences des mesures barrières de la Covid-19 sur la pêche artisanale maritime dans le district autonome d’Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)
Consequences of Covid-19 barrier measures on the artisanal maritime fishery in the district of Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)

Summary/Abstract: Fishing contributes significantly to the economy of coastal countries, including Côte d'Ivoire. Bordered in the south by the Atlantic Ocean on about 570 km and marked off with vast lagoons, the country shows the development of industrial and artisanal fishing activities. Artisanal maritime fishing, deployed on a continental plateau of 12,000 km², contributes to the socio-economic dynamics of coastal populations, particularly those of the Autonomous District of Abidjan. But, like any other actor of the informal economy, traditional fishermen are highly vulnerable to all kinds of crises. Thus, they were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the first case of which was discovered in Côte d'Ivoire on March 10, 2020. This article shows the repercussions of the barrier measures set to contain the spread of the Covid-19 on the maritime traditional fishery in this District. In addition to the analysis of the literature, it is built using field surveys. A sample of respondents made it possible to draw inferences and assess the consequences of this health crisis on small-scale maritime fishing. The results show an informal fishing sector devastated by the dearth of fishermen's tides, the poor sales of catches and the failure of support measures for artisanal fishing, with the corollary of the loss of productive capital, the reduction of income and livelihoods of actors. In short, there are several collateral effects in socio-economic and spatial terms of the barrier measures of COVID-19 on artisanal fishing actors in the Autonomous District of Abidjan.

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