Impact of COVID-19 on marine fisheries supply chains: Case study of Malaysia

COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed in every country in the world, and to slow the spread of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged infected countries to impose several containment and suppression measures. Supply chain disruptions are among one of the most vulnerable food sector caused by the aspects of COVID-19 disease control (i.e., lockdown, travel restriction, or movement control order (MCO)). Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on marine food security supply chain and management in Malaysia. To achieve this, the study systematically and specifically addresses the following objectives: (i) to review available literature on Southeast Asia food supply management and COVID-19; (ii) to conduct a survey on purchasing method preferences and perception on marine fish supplies availability; and (iii) to recommend relevant intervention and policy development to improve well-being and livelihood status among the study population. The national survey was conducted from June 1 to September 30, 2020 through Google Forms. The results from the systematic review showed that there are eight main articles within the research areas of COVID-19 and supply chain, which have been focused only in the Southeast Asia region. The web survey results indicated that the self-visit methods for marine fish supplies were the main methods before the COVID-19 pandemic, and were decreased during the MCO period. The study also indicated that the respondents genders and types of living area affected their perceptions of marine fish supplies sources and distribution. Additionally, some respondents decided to use delivery services as well as booking and purchasing via phone and online, which includes the use of social media.