The FAO’s latest report on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on fisheries and aquaculture is not an uplifting read for most people in the seafood sector. Farmers who’ve delayed harvests – while still paying for feed and fending off aquatic health challenges – must be finding life particularly stressful. Especially since the report confirms suspicions that Covid’s impact will likely stretch well into 2021.

Yet there are a few positives, such as the growth in direct sales through home deliveries or farm-based drive-ins. And it’s hard not to be heartened by the report’s assertion that numerous small-scale aquaculture operators have been able to benefit from reduced competition from cheap, low quality imports in some regions. There’s much to be admired about local production that maintains food security while sustaining local livelihoods. Whether these producers can secure their markets post-pandemic remains to be seen.