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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.

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Birdwatching attracts many bird enthusiasts to developing economies, and is generally considered an innocuous activity with few impacts on birds. Birdwatchers generally attempt to remain as inconspicuous as possible when approaching birds, and their movement is different to that of other users of natural areas. However, how birds respond to birdwatchers, compared with humans conducting other activities, has rarely been tested. We randomly conducted pedestrian (i.e. consistent walking) and 'birdwatcher' (i.e. stops each 5 paces to view a bird through binoculars) approaches to 20 East African bird species and measured their escape responses. Four species (α = 0.05; 7 if α = 0.10) exhibited significantly and substantially (1.7-2.2 times) longer flight-initiation distances (FIDs) to birdwatcher approaches. No differences in escape mode (flying versus on foot) were evident. While birdwatching appears no more disturbing per episode than walking for most species, some species evidently judge birdwatchers as more threatening. This information has important implications for management strategies focused on minimizing birdwatching impacts in natural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]