Effect of outbreak of covid-19 disease on the aquaculture activities of coldwater fish in Iran

The current research has been conducted to identify the impact of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic on the breeding and propagation centers of coldwater fish, including the impact of inputs, production, and the supply process. The statistical population of this research was the propagation, rearing, and intermediate farms of coldwater fish in Tehran, Mazandaran, Fars, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, Kerman, Guilan, Zanjan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Isfahan, Lorestan, Markazi, and West Azerbaijan provinces. The number of farms investigated in this research was 75 farms. The results of this research showed that the outbreak of the Covid-19 disease had a strong impact on production activities in coldwater farms. For example, the fresh sales were decreased in 78% of the investigated farms. Restaurant demand for fish decreased in 82% of farms, and overall 90% of respondents reported a decrease in fish purchase demand in their sales markets. Also, the supply of inputs such as fish feed, eggs, and fry was faced with problems in more than 80% of the farms. The same problem was observed for selling products, where 93% of the respondents believed that the main reason was the restrictions on travelling during the lockdown. Finally, 93% of the respondents stated that the restrictions created during the outbreak of the disease had a negative impact on the production process, of which 67% declared that this impact was great. The results of the current research indicated the initial shock to the country's coldwater aquaculture industry in the early days of the outbreak of the Covid-19 disease. Results of present study are consistent with similar studies conducted in other countries. For this reason, using the strategy of endurance during the occurrence of similar crises through the compilation of government guidelines to support the aquaculture industry is known as the most appropriate strategy for the continuation and survival of the industry.