The Impacts of Covid-19 to Small Scale Fisheries in Tun Mustapha Park, Sabah, Malaysia; What Do We Know So Far?

As early as February 2020, many countries have started imposing measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. Despite the right intention, it is a challenging moment for the people, especially the rural population living in the coastal areas. The document presents the preliminary findings on the impacts of Covid-19 on the small scale fisheries in Tun Mustapha Park, Sabah, Malaysia.


Introduction
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) expected with the current trend of the Covid-19 affecting countries worldwide; there would be disruptions in the food supply chains as of April and May of 2020, of which might hit hardest on the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population (FAO, 2020). The impacts of Covid-19 are already hitting the fisheries sector, particularly the small-scale fisheries globally. The European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries in European Union (EU)'s pandemic emergency response to support the fishing and aquaculture sectors stated that the first to suffer the economic consequences as seafood demand has dramatically decreased are the fishers and aquaculture farmers (European Commission, 2020). The neighboring country, Indonesia, that currently has the highest Covid-19 mortality rate in Southeast Asia region (World Health Organisation. 2020, 9 April), is also experiencing declining sales of fish (Mubarok, F. and Fajar, J., 2020). amid a slump in demand caused by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Malaysia, the Covid-19 was first detected in late January 2020 and mid of March 2020, Malaysia became the worst infected nation in the Southeast Asia (World Health Organisation., 2020, 15 March) where 428 Covid-19 cases were reported. In an effort to curb the pandemic infection in Malaysia, the government has imposed the Movement Control Order (MCO) from March 18. It is extended to April 28 nationwide (Prime Minister's Office of Malaysia., 2020, 10 April), though this end date may be extended again at the discretion of the government. The government enlisted essential services 1 that are allowed to be operating at times of the control order, including food, water, energy, communication, internet etc.
Despite the right intention, it is a challenging moment for the people, especially the rural population living in the coastal areas. There has been reported that the income of fishers has been severely affected, despite the government allowing fishers to continue to operate during the MCO (Clare Cinderella., 2020) (Media Baharu., 2020). However, as Covid-19 is a relatively new issue, not many documentations on its impacts are made available. Hence, this paper seeks to understand further how the impacts of Covid-19 affect the small-scale fisheries in Tun Mustapha Park (TMP).
The park is an 898,762-hectare marine protected area, covering the coastal areas of Kudat, Pitas, and Kota Marudu districts. Located in the Coral Triangle, this park helps to protect coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses, and some of the area's most productive fishing grounds. It is the largest multiple-use marine protected area in Malaysia, with more than 85,000 people are depending on the marine resources.

Falling Market and Disrupted Food Supply Chain
Our findings indicate the imposed movement control measures have led to a significant decline in the fish price along the food supply chain. The most affected ones are the small-scale fishers, primarily those residing in the islands far from the significant economic activities. The majority of the fishing communities still relied on middlemen. Currently, fish catch is sold to the village middlemen at a price of around 50% -70% lower than the price before the movement restriction period. At a fishing village at [The fish price now is much lower than before. We have to buy supplies from the fishers at a lower price because there is a lack of demand for fish, and our customers are buying them at a lower price too. For example, the Spanish Mackerels are sold to them at RM12/kg. Before the MCO, it was priced around RM18-20/kg] (Kudat Middlemen H 2020, pers. comm., 9 April). Having stated this, as a comparison, a fishing community in Pitas is currently selling their produce directly to the fish market in Kudat, and earn the profit solely without middlemen. Trevallies or Ikan Putih is sold at RM15/kg (note: Balambangan current price is at RM2/kg). The said Pitas community has all the means to bring the fish to Kudat and is in a better position to bargain in the market.
We were also informed that due to the uncertainties of the fish selling price in the market, middlemen in some villages are not operating anymore to minimize risk of business losses. "Kalau pergi memancing pun, tiada pembeli ikan (orang tengah) di kampung kami. Di sini (kampung) ada empat tauke ikan, dan tidak ada satu pun tauke kampung yang mahu membeli ikan sekarang." [If we go fishing, no one ones to buy our fish catch anyway. There used to be four middlemen in this village, and none of them wants to be operating at this time.] (Absan and Sulaiman, 2020, pers. comm., 9 April). The Malaysian Inshore Fishermen Action Network (JARING) in their media statement released on the 28 March 2020 stated the same concern that there might be a disruption in food supply chain as to avoid income losses, majority fishers decided not to go out fishing when their products can no longer be sold. ("Fishermen badly affected"., 2020, 28 March) The movement control measures have outsized the impacts on the fisheries industry along the food supply chain. A large section of the market for fresh fish and shellfish are also affected, triggering  2020, pers. comm., 9 April). In most cases, the fishers have no say on the price fixed by the village middlemen as they do not know how to determine the market price for fishes. "Di kampung sini, asal dapat ikan saja, kami jual terus sebab tukang beli ada sedia di sana. Berapa-berapa harga saja tauke taruh, berserah seja kami sebab mau duit bikin beli" [Here in the village, all fish catch will be sold directly to the village middlemen, as they are always available to buy our fish. Whatever amount (in RM) they fixed, we will accept, as we need the money to buy other necessities.] (Aineh 2020, pers. comm., 9 April).
The fishers are facing challenges in accessing markets to sell their produce directly. In some villages, several fishers have stopped fishing due to the meager buying price controlled by the village middlemen. The income generated from the fish catch is barely enough to cover the cost incurred, and the fishing communities face challenges in making ends meet. "Saya tiada sumber pendapatan lain sekarang. Terpaksa menunggu bantuan sumbangan lain juga dan kemasukan Bantuan Perihatin Nasional dari Kerajaan." [I have no other source of income. (I) have no options but to wait for the government's financial aid ] (Shahbani 2020, pers. comm., 9 April). Moreover, the most affected might force to cope with the situation negatively, to compensate the income constraints. Some reported could not afford to buy basic food like rice, which leads to the accumulation of debts in the village grocery stores. At these points of time, the affected communities are receptive towards assistance provided by the state government, politicians, philanthropists, NGOs, and others to help them to go through these challenging times amidst losing income-earning opportunities.
The low fish supplies from the islands are also observed by the middlemen based in Kudat, who used to receive the stock directly from the islands. "Tidak ada berlaku kekurangan stok ikan kerana bekalan daripada nelayan komersial seperti pukat jerut dan tunda masih banyak. tapi bekalan ikan daripada pulau-pulau sudah terhenti" [There is no issue on low supplies of fishes as the commercial fishers are still operating and supplying us with plenty of fishes. However, fish supplies from the islands have stopped] (Kudat Middlemen 2020, pers. comm., 9 April).

Fisheries Regulatory Compliance Issue
Our findings also suggest fisheries regulatory compliance issue as one of the factors contributing to the fishers' challenges in market access besides declining fish selling price. "Sekarang banyak roadblocks di laut juga. Mungkin nelayan dan tukang beli ikan di kampung tidak mempunyai dokumentasi lengkap. Itu sebab takut kena tangkap bila keluar bawa hasil ikan keluar dari kampung. " [Currently, the enforcement agencies are patrolling the sea regularly. Some of the fishers and middlemen do not possess legal documentation to fishing; hence they are afraid to bring their fish products out of the village] (Sulaiman and Ikhsan 2020, pers. comm., 9 April).
Covid-19 is a global crisis that threatens public health and safety. It constitutes the term "disaster" under Article 4, Malaysian National Security Council Directive 20. As of 12 April 2020, there were more than 4,500 cases, and it claimed the lives of more than 70 people in less than two months. Under

Conclusion and Recommendations:
The plummeting demand for fish and the selling prices along the supply chain, which is beyond the fishers' control, have restricted their purchasing power and resulted in potential loss of incomeearning opportunities. The preliminary finding also shows that middlemen play a significant role in determining the price for fish produce and subsequently affect the livelihood of the fishing community. Fisheries regulatory compliance is another hindrance for individual fishers to sell their produce directly to the market and earn their profit without the middlemen's involvement.
Based on the preliminary findings, the following interventions are recommended:- • Post Covid-19 rapid study should be conducted to obtain a quick understanding of the food security and livelihood situation of all fishing communities. It is also recommended to expand the study to commercial fisheries. Findings from this study will provide further inputs to relevant agencies to make better-informed decisions in planning the next steps.
• Consider integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness in the district's plans as an intervention to sustain and protect the livelihoods of the communities in facing the impacts of climate change-related disasters and disease outbreak.
• Improve the necessary amenities such as electrical supplies, which can better support adequate small-scale post-harvest handling facilities, e.g., freezer and, at the same time, enhance the fishers' skills to ensure quality maintenance for better market and prices.
• Promote the livelihood diversification program at village levels to reduce total dependency on one source of income.

Research Limitations:
As Malaysia is in its effort to curb the spread of Covid-19, data were collected through interviews conducted using Whatsapp messenger with several individuals comprised of fishers and middlemen who reside in Kudat City and rural areas of Banggi Island and its surrounding islands.
Hence findings cannot be generalized to a larger population-further in-depth study to wholly understand the impacts of Covid-19 on the fishing communities in TMP is recommended.