Mosquito Net Use in an Artisanal East African Fishery

Conservation Letters

Kirao Lennox¹  Emma R. Bush²  Melita Samoilys³  Nicholas Hill⁴  Rebecca E. Short⁵  E. J. Milner‐Gulland⁵ 

[1] A Rocha Kenya Watamu 80202 Kenya;Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling Scotland FK9 4LA UK;CORDIO‐East Africa PO Box 24562 Nairobi 00502 Kenya;Conservation Programmes Zoological Society of London Regent's Park London NW1 4RY UK;Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus Buckhurst Road Ascot SL5 7PY UK;

关键词: Artisanal fishing;    Kenya;    livelihoods;    malaria;    mosquito net;    overfishing;   

DOI  :  10.1111/conl.12286

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Widespread, anecdotal reports of the use of bed nets designed for malaria control (“mosquito nets”) in artisanal fisheries have led to concern from health and natural resource management sectors. However, mosquito net fishing (MNF) may play an important role in the livelihoods of artisanal fishers, an aspect not yet investigated. At a coastal Kenyan site among Giriama fishers, nearly half of homesteads interviewed used mosquito nets as fishing gear, targeting juvenile fish and prawns for subsistence and sale. The majority of mosquito net (MN) fishers here were men, suggesting that the assumption that MNF is a female activity is not valid in this case. However, MN use for fishing at this site is unlikely to impact malaria protection as fishers used old or surplus nets. Respondents perceived both positive aspects of MNF (e.g., food and income) and negative aspects (e.g., impact on fishery). As mosquito nets are widely available, they may enable new entrants to access fisheries. There is a critical need to review current management responses, which predominately focus on banning the practice, and instead promote integrated strategies for sustainable livelihoods.

【 授权许可】

Unknown