Well-being of artisanal fishing communities and children’s engagement in fisheries amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: a case in Aklan, Philippines

This study describes and explains the multifaceted effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socio-economic and psychosocial well-being of the artisanal fishing communities in Central Philippines. The state of child labour and their education amidst the COVID-19 lockdown were also explored. Four hundred artisanal fishing households, with 792 children, from the 10 coastal municipalities in Aklan province were surveyed in May–December 2020 through face-to-face household interviews. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened poverty in these highly vulnerable fishing communities primarily through severe disruptions in their fishing and marine tourism-related livelihoods. The proportion of households living below the Philippine poverty threshold of PHP12,030 (USD232.7) monthly for a family of five members increased from 78% pre-COVID to 91% peri-COVID. This economic impoverishment was more pronounced in larger families with limited income, as in the survey sites, where 41% of the households have more than five family members. Furthermore, 57% of the surveyed households believed that learning difficulty increased by 81% among children due to the blended online education modality. Amidst increased impoverishment, child labour intensified, and children stopped schooling. A significant decline in happiness index peri-COVID was also observed in the study sites indicating extreme socio-economic challenges. Contrary to expectations, however, interpersonal relations in most households improved, underscoring women’s stabilising and nurturing role. This latter phenomenon signifies that cooperative and nurturing actor relationships can be generated even in a crisis. Policies that mainstreamed local communities’ reproductive health, family planning, and programmes that diversify socio-economic, environmental, and technological assets must be renewed and promoted. The goal is to holistically improve human well-being by increasing or sustaining stocks of these assets to promote resilience and sustainability amidst crisis and complexity.