Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has obliged Governments all around the world to implement confinement and social distancing measures. Leisure and business activities on beaches and in ports have restricted direct and indirect contamination from, for instance, plastics, hydrocarbon spillage, microbiological loads, and noise levels. This has led to temporarily improved environmental conditions, and therefore the beaches have conditions closer to Marine Protected Areas. Here we report some impacts that are studied using local surveys and qualitative observations in Ecuador at the popular beaches and ports of Salinas, Manta, and Galapagos. Satellite data support this information. Online surveys were meted out at critical moments of the pandemic: May (15th) and just after when measures were relaxed a bit, but within lockdown in July (21st) 2020. Here we recommend that this unique opportunity resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic is employed locally, regionally, and globally to construct baseline data sets that include information on physical, chemical, biological, and microbiological factors in coastal zones. These parameters can then help establish a good Coastal Zone Management Plan supported beach description and quality (water standards, noise pollution), likewise because of the human dimension (tourist load, cultural heritage, and measure indices) [1]. This data and data gathering ideally should be done before the beaches become more heavily used again because the pandemic recedes.