Abstract
Mosquito net fishing (MNF) is a growing activity globally, particularly in places where mass distributions of nets are a public health policy to tackle malaria. Due to the mesh sizes used, and therefore its assumed ‘indiscriminate’ nature, MNF is thought to be unsustainable and a threat to both fisheries resources and biodiversity. As a consequence, MNF is widely illegal. While a body of evidence is growing as to the scale of MNF, few detailed case studies exist and none explicitly address the assumptions of ecological harm. Here, we present a first full characterization and gear comparison for MNF within the small-scale fisheries of Cabo Delgado, Northern Mozambique. The assumptions of harm to the fishery are challenged by the characterization of MNF as highly gendered in this case; with a primarily androcentric deployment method posing some risk to the fishery but a predominantly gynocentric method demonstrating possibility of limited resource overlap with other gears and little evidence of ecosystem-level impacts. The gendered nature of the fishery is discussed in terms of both risks and benefits to the fishery, with a critical need for further socio-economic assessment identified in order to guide more effective and equitable management of MNF.
Highlights
There is increasing documentation of the use of mosquito nets as fishing gear, where they are provided for free in anti-malaria efforts (Larsen, Welsh, Mulenga, & Reid, 2018; Short, Gurung, Rowcliffe, Hill, & Milner-Gulland, 2018)
We explore the role of mosquito net fishing (MNF) in socio-ecological systems by providing an in-depth look at the activity for a specific location, testing some of the ecologically relevant assumptions of risk posed by MNF, through a gendered lens, by addressing the following questions: 1. How, by whom and where is MNF conducted in Cabo Delgado? 2
Focus group discussions (FGDs), observations and participatory mapping with both men and women reveal a strong distinction between two main modes of deployment for MNF: Kutanda and Chicocota
Summary
There is increasing documentation of the use of mosquito nets as fishing gear, where they are provided for free in anti-malaria efforts (Larsen, Welsh, Mulenga, & Reid, 2018; Short, Gurung, Rowcliffe, Hill, & Milner-Gulland, 2018). While numerous countries attempt to tackle MNF through enforcement-based responses (Bush et al, 2017), these remain almost entirely lacking in evidence, being advocated for based on the social and ecological assumptions outlined above. These policies have been criticized (Short et al, 2019), with a need to determine the actual impacts of MNF on fisheries and associated biodiversity for more effective policy development
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