The effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on small-scale fisheries in Istanbul, Turkey, bring out the need to address the structural inequalities and power asymmetries that bind the sector. There have been wide-ranging discussions on the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic for food production and access to food among small-scale fishing communities in Istanbul, Turkey. An unavoidable result of the pandemic was the temporary collapse of global agro-businesses dominated by long-distance trade. On the contrary, small-scale producers, including those in small-scale fisheries (SSF), have been more resilient with their local production, distribution and consumption chains, as well as their solidarity networks, even though they also suffered a lot from the pandemic.