Project Title
Disentangling the net: the ecological and social dynamics of mosquito net fishing in
Mozambique
Supervisors
Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland, Imperial College London, Department of Life Sciences
Dr Nick Hill, Zoological Society of London, Conservation Programmes.
Dr Sergio Rosendo, Social Sciences and Humanities Department, Universidade Nova de
Lisboa, Portugal
Project Description
Policy concern about malaria has led to substantial efforts to distribute insecticide-impregnated
bednets to poor communities, particularly in East Africa. These communities and their natural
resources lack resilience to environmental and social change, with many people dependent on
depleted coastal fisheries for their food security and livelihoods. There are anecdotal reports of
widespread use of bednets for fishing. From the health side, there is debate about whether
fishing nets would otherwise be protecting people from malaria. Concerns about their impact
on already stressed marine systems include insecticide pollution and that these fine-mesh nets
target juvenile and small fish in nursery areas, potentially causing fish community collapse.
This links to a major general debate on ecosystem-based fisheries management, on whether
"balanced fishing" which targets all components of the ecosystem (and so increases the
proportion of small fish in the catch), is more appropriate than current management focussed
on protecting small or young individuals.
Ecologists and health professionals lack robust empirical evidence on the prevalence of
mosquito net fishing, its role in livelihoods and ecological impacts. An MSc thesis in 2013,
supervised by Nick Hill and E.J. Milner-Gulland, represented the first scientific study of this
issue, and suggests that bednet fishers are new entrants to the fishery rather than switching
from other gears, potentially exacerbating overfishing. Local people are concerned about
ecological impacts of bednet fishing but they are using old nets so not increasing malaria risk.
This pilot study sets the scene for this PhD.
This PhD will meet the urgent need for empirical evidence on the ecological impacts of bednet
fishing, in the context of environmental and social change, with a case study in northern
Mozambique, but with relevance to coastal East Africa more generally. It will combine
fieldwork, data analysis, modelling and scenario analysis.
Fieldwork will investigate the species, habitat and maturity of targeted fish, the prevalence and
intensity of fishing effort and the role of bednet fishing in local livelihoods. Detailed research will
focus on two villages where ZSL is working, supplemented by a rapid assessment of the
broader region to provide context.
Modelling of the impact of bednet fishing, in the context of existing climate change-induced
ecosystem changes (e.g. reef loss) and fishing trends, will improve understanding of whether
the key issue is the selectivity of the nets or the increase in fishing pressure. Modelling will use
existing community models (e.g. Ecopath) to understand the population dynamics of the fish
community and explore ecological uncertainites. Models will then be used to explore the
effectiveness of different management approaches. This will lead into a participatory scenario
analysis of options for more resilient management of coastal subsistence fisheries in East
Africa, within an ecosystems framework, involving local fishers, scientists, managers and
health professionals.
The PhD will represent the first full study of a contentious, multi-disciplinary issue with broad
policy relevance, not just for East Africa but also contributing to the broader debate on how to
implement ecosystem-based management in an age of environmental and social change.
Project background
ZSL have been working with the Cabo Delgado Biodiversity and Tourism project (set up by
private businesses with ZSL partnership) since 1998, with a focus on turtle conservation.
Currently, ZSL has a project in the study site funded by the Darwin Initiative and led by Dr Nick
Hill with Sergio Rosendo as a partner (running from 2013 to 2016). This project's purpose is "a
reduction in dependence on marine resources and improved management capacity secures
marine biodiversity and livelihoods in at least two impoverished coastal villages between
Rovuma River and Moçimboa da Praia, Mozambique, enhancing social and ecological
resilience to external threats". The team has also recently secured EU funding, from the
ENTRP fund to support protected area management. This will be used to improve governance
and ecological and social outcomes of protected areas in the study area, linked to ZSL's
ongoing work with fisheries conservation.
Both of these projects provide a very strong foundation for the PhD project, because they
mean that the student will be supported by, and a part of, a high quality field team. It means
that there will be in-kind support available for their field research, reducing the cost and risks of
the field work. It also means that the PhD will have very clear real world impact, as it will feed
into the management planning and conservation action being carried out by ZSL and its
partners in-country.
Disciplinary foundations:
The PhD is highly multi-disciplinary. It has strong foundations in ecological science, with
fieldwork to describe the composition and location of the catch and modelling of ecological
community dynamics under different management scenarios, in the context of climate change
and other environmental change (such as pollution and reef destruction). This will represent a
novel application of ecosystem modelling within an area of high research interest (see Garcia
et al. (2012) in Science, which moots the idea that balanced fishing is a useful management
approach).
The thesis will also contain substantial social science research, including livelihoods analysis of
fishers and other village members, and analysis of the drivers and consequences of bednet
fishing for wellbeing. The study will focus particularly on the issues faced by the poorest in
society, and those with restricted livelihood options.
We will also engage with health professionals, because the issue raises important concerns
about the linkages between, and impacts of, health interventions on natural resource use. The
One Health Initiative shows that there is a strong desire by health professionals to reach out
and form interdisciplinary partnerships (http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/about.php).
Finally the PhD is trans-disciplinary, in that it also involves managers and practitioners, as well
as a broader set of stakeholders. Nick Hill leads ZSL's substantial conservation intervention in
the region and has strong relationships with government, private enterprise and local leaders.
So the PhD will contribute directly to management changes. The trans-disciplinary research
component will include participatory scenario analysis, in which a range of stakeholders get
together to consider the potential scenarios of change, based on the research done in the PhD,
and to negotiate potential ways forward.
Garcia S.M., Kolding J., Rice J., Rochet Marie-Joelle, Zhou S., Arimoto T., Beyer J. E., Borges L., Bundy A., Dunn
D., Fulton E. A., Hall M., Heino M., Law R., Makino M., Rijnsdorp A. D., Simard Francois, Smith A. D.M. (2012).
Reconsidering the Consequences of Selective Fisheries. Science, 335, 1045-1047
Eligibility requirements
Required:
A strong academic background (ideally a First Class degree and a Distinction at Masters Level
in a relevant subject).
UK national or UK resident status
Desirable:
Evidence of ability to produce high quality written work (e.g. having published a research paper
or report)
Prior experience of fieldwork in challenging circumstances
An inter-disciplinary background with experience of both social and ecological research
Experience of working with a range of different stakeholders
Language skills
Helpful:
Experience of marine or coastal conservation or research
Experience of research in East Africa
Ecological field, modelling and statistical skills appropriate to the project remit
Knowledge of Portuguese language
To apply, send E.J. Milner-Gulland (e.j.milner-gulland@imperial.ac.uk) a CV, names and email
addresses of 2 referees who can be contacted directly, and a covering letter explaining why
you would like to do this PhD and how you fit the eligibility requirements.
Closing date: 20th January 2013.
More information can be found at:
http://www.iccs.org.uk/wp-content/thesis/consci/2013/Bush.pdf
http://www.zsl.org/conservation/regions/africa/turtle-mozambique/biodiversity-and-tourism-inmozambique,374,AR.html