ABSTRACT
The artisanal fishery in Burkina Faso, already fragile, has been severely affected by government measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. Fishermen were the first actors to feel the impact of the crisis. This study was undertaken to assess the impact of the pandemic on their activities in two fisheries in Burkina Faso. To this end, a survey was conducted in the Samendeni and Sourou fisheries. A total of 86 fishermen were interviewed. The variables collected were: unemployment rate, reduction in fishing time, variation in fish prices, loss of income, inaccessibility of fishing equipment. The results reveal that 31.4% of the fishermen were unemployed, of which 41.2% were from Samendeni and 17.1% from Sourou. A reduction in fishing time of 1 to 6 months was observed in 53.49%. The perception of the fishermen on the catches shows that 2.32% have made gains in catches, 27.91% have not noticed a variation in their catches and 69.77% have noted a decrease in the quantities caught. They lost an average of 30.3% and 22.16% of their income in Samendeni and Sourou respectively. This study revealed the difficulties experienced by fishermen during the restrictive measures to curb COVID-19.