Impacts, Diversity, and Resilience of a Coastal Water Small-Scale Fisheries Nexus during COVID-19: A Case Study in Bangladesh

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The research article with this mansucript looks like a report of the data obtained from the questionary. The manuscript remained at a local level in its current status. 

Abstract would be re-written from the beginnging of all parts constituting of materail and method, main findings and results, and comparision regarding the Pandemic. 

Introduction is too extensive and written in a thesis. The introduction must ve shorthened and address to the aim of the research of the manuscript. 

Material and method was mainly focused on the data aqcuation. The material and methods would be enhanced with the statisittical anaylses. Too much information is there in the material and methods. the analyses must be detailded with their hypothesis.

Results Table 2 and Figure 3 contained similar data. Table 2 appeared half in the pdf file. The results demostration are formatted in data report and must be pleased to be anaysled using the statistical analyses. 

Discussion must be compared with the cases before and after the pandemic. The reasons-explanation could improve the discussion. 

The consclusion must address to a wide interest with the readers with a case of the local studies. 

The current status of the manuscript cannot be accepted for a publication in journal Water since the manuscript needs a major revision.

Author Response

Answers to the questions-Reviewer 1

We would like to thank you for your constructive comments in the review of the manuscript. Your comments provided valuable insights to refine its contents. We tried to address the issues raised as best as possible in the revised manuscript. Below we provide our responses to your query-

Q.1.The research article with this mansucript looks like a report of the data obtained from the questionary. The manuscript remained at a local level in its current status. 

Ans-We tried our best to incorporate Reviewer advice. We believe the revised manuscript is updated and readable.

Q.2.Abstract would be re-written from the beginnging of all parts constituting of materail and method, main findings and results, and comparision regarding the Pandemic. 

Ans-We revised the abstract as per Reviewer's advice and deleted unnecessary parts.

Q.3.Introduction is too extensive and written in a thesis. The introduction must ve shorthened and address to the aim of the research of the manuscript. 

Ans- We thank the Reviewer for the valid issue.We revised the manuscript as per the Reviewers advice.

Q.4. Material and method was mainly focused on the data aqcuation. The material and methods would be enhanced with the statisittical anaylses. Too much information is there in the material and methods. the analyses must be detailded with their hypothesis.

Ans- We revised the manuscript as per Reviewer's advice and we tried our best to reduce the length. We did not use any particular program to analyze quantitative data. However, Excel and SPSS were used to analyze the quantitative data, and the results were presented in tabular format.

Q.5.Results Table 2 and Figure 3 contained similar data. Table 2 appeared half in the pdf file. The results demostration are formatted in data report and must be pleased to be anaysled using the statistical analyses. 

Ans-We revised the manuscript and deleted Figure 3. We agree that we presented the data in a simple format, and it is not possible to use any particular statistical analysis method at this stage. However, we considered it as one of our limitations and stated it as a scope for further research.

Q.6. Discussion must be compared with the cases before and after the pandemic. The reasons-explanation could improve the discussion. 

Ans-We agrees with the valid issues of the Reviewer's comments. However, we collected the data during the pandemic. Hence it is not possible to compare the situation before and after the pandemic. However, we stated such things as a research gap that needs to be explored.

Q.7. The conclusion must address to a wide interest with the readers with a case of the local studies. 

Ans- We revised the manuscript as per Reviewer's advise. We tried our best to address the issue to a wide interest with the reader with a case of the local studies.

Q.8. The current status of the manuscript cannot be accepted for a publication in journal Water since the manuscript needs a major revision.

Ans- We incorporated Reviewer advice and tried our best to update the manuscript. We believe the revised manuscript can be considered for publication in the Water journal.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors,

Please find below and attached my comments and suggestions for your work.

Good luck!

Kind regards,

The Reviewer

Review Report Form

Journal: Water (ISSN 2073-4441)

Manuscript ID: water-1636710

Type: Article

Title: Impacts, diversity, and resilience of a coastal water small-scale fisheries nexus under COVID-19: A case study of Bangladesh.

Authors: Mohammad Muslem Uddin , Petra Schneider , Dibash Deb , Mehedi Hasan , Tansu Ahmed , Sharmin Sultana Mim , Mohammad Mojibul Hoque Mozumder *

Section: Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance

Special Issue: Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources

Submission Date: 27 February 2022

Dear Authors,

I have carefully analyzed your article entitled “Impacts, diversity, and resilience of a coastal water small-scale fisheries nexus under COVID-19: A case study of Bangladesh”.

Congratulations for your work and valuable insights reflected in the content of the manuscript!

The structure of my Review Report Form takes into consideration two sections, namely: (A.) General overview of the article and strong points; and (B) Suggestions meant to improve your current manuscript.

(A.) General overview of the article and strong points:

• General background and aim of the study: According to the authors, the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected coastal social-ecological systems (SES) in many regions of the world. In addition, the extensive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed flaws in numerous facets of society, including small-scale coastal fishery in developing countries.
• Research objectives and methodology used: According to the authors, the current study investigated the impacts of a lockdown associated with the pandemic in the southeastern coastal region of Bangladesh, focusing on mainly two coastal districts, namely Chattogram and Cox's Bazar, where small-scale fisheries are meaningful livelihoods of the coastal fishers. A total of (n= 120) in-depth individual interviews including general fishers (n-70), boat owners(n-10), money landers(n-10), Upazila fishery officers(n-6), District Fishery Officers (n-2), Upazila Nirbahi Officers (n-6), and other government and non-government representatives(n-16) were carried out by using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data was further validated using two focus groups discussions in the study areas.
• Results of the study: Based on the authors’ analysis, the impact of the pandemic on the fishers' livelihood included halting all kinds of fishing activities as a consequence, no work; limited time or area for fishing; livelihood relocating or alternative work; low fish price; low fish buyers which cause difficulty in selling; travel or free moving restrictions.

(B) Suggestions meant to improve your current manuscript:

Distinguished Authors I would kindly like to suggest the following aspects:

(1.) Closely analyzing the article, since there are some English language improvements and slight corrections that need to be taken care of. Thus, my recommendation would be to carefully proofread the entire manuscript. 

(2.) Also, I have closely analyzed the format of the article, in order to check whether it follows the guidelines which are specific to the publisher. Thus, I have noticed that the current form of your work needs improvement in this regard. So, my kind suggestion is to closely analyze again the guidelines belonging to the publisher, since the article should fit exactly the publisher’s guidelines (for example, while referring to the manner in which you have put the references in the text and at the end of the article). Also, in order to put your article in a better light, I would kindly suggest putting a better emphasis on your research objectives in your abstract.  

(3.) In continuation, the suggestion would also be inserting in your article a few ideas concerning the correlation between effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 global crisis, sustainability and sustainability assessment, while focusing on the impacts, diversity, and resilience of a coastal water small-scale fisheries nexus under COVID-19. In this context, I had the chance to read a few interesting scientific works recently, among which I would like to mention: An Exploratory Study Based on a Questionnaire Concerning Green and Sustainable Finance, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Performance: Evidence from the Romanian Business Environment. J. Risk Financial Manag. 2019, 12, 162. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm12040162; OECD. OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2013-2022  : FISHERIES - OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2013-2022. 2022. https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=48173. Review of Fisheries in OECD Countries: Policies and Summary Statistics. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/agriculture-and-food/oecd-review-of-fisheries-2020_7946bc8a-en.

Dear Authors, congratulations once again for your work and valuable insights reflected in the content of the manuscript, and I hope my comments will be of value to you!

Kind regards,

The Reviewer

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Answers to the questions- Reviewer 2

We would like to thank you for your constructive comments in the review of the manuscript. Your comments provided valuable insights to refine its contents. We tried to address the issues raised as best as possible in the revised manuscript. Below we provide our responses to your query-

 Q.1.Closely analyzing the article, since there are some English language improvements and slight corrections that need to be taken care of. Thus, my recommendation would be to carefully proofread the entire manuscript. 

Ans- We thank the reviewer and revised the manuscript with a professional proofreader. Please find the attached certificate for that.

(2.) Also, I have closely analyzed the format of the article, in order to check whether it follows the guidelines which are specific to the publisher. Thus, I have noticed that the current form of your work needs improvement in this regard. So, my kind suggestion is to closely analyze again the guidelines belonging to the publisher, since the article should fit exactly the publisher’s guidelines (for example, while referring to the manner in which you have put the references in the text and at the end of the article). Also, in order to put your article in a better light, I would kindly suggest putting a better emphasis on your research objectives in your abstract.  

Ans-We thank the Reviewer for this valid issue and checked the guidelines for the authors- https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water/instructions.The manuscript is updated according to the guidelines of the journal. Furthermore, we updated the abstract of the manuscript as per reviewer's advice.

(3.) In continuation, the suggestion would also be inserting in your article a few ideas concerning the correlation between effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 global crisis, sustainability and sustainability assessment, while focusing on the impacts, diversity, and resilience of a coastal water small-scale fisheries nexus under COVID-19. In this context, I had the chance to read a few interesting scientific works recently, among which I would like to mention: An Exploratory Study Based on a Questionnaire Concerning Green and Sustainable Finance, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Performance: Evidence from the Romanian Business Environment. J. Risk Financial Manag. 2019, 12, 162. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm12040162; OECD. OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2013-2022  : FISHERIES - OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2013-2022. 2022. https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=48173. Review of Fisheries in OECD Countries: Policies and Summary Statistics. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/agriculture-and-food/oecd-review-of-fisheries-2020_7946bc8a-en.

Ans- We incorporated the Reviewer's advise and the manuscript is revised accordingly. We thank the Reviewer for these valuable suggestions.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors revised significantly the manuscript. The MS could be accepted with its revised version. 

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.