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Mosquito nets distributed to combat malaria in developing tropical countries are being routinely used for fishing instead, according to the first-ever attempt to gauge the international scale of a practice that is of increasing concern to the global conservation and healthcare communities alike.
Published in the journal PLOS ONE, this collaborative study between international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London), Oxford University and Imperial College London highlights the widespread nature of mosquito net fishing (MNF) — raising questions regarding the threats to biodiversity this practice poses, as well as its impact on both the fish populations that represent critical sources of food for many poor people, and human health.
The researchers surveyed expert witnesses living and working in malarial zones around the world, in order to produce a rapid global assessment of the extent and characteristics of MNF. The study found evidence that this practice occurs to some extent across most of the world’s tropical latitudes, impacting a broad range of different marine and freshwater habitats and species.
Read the full article about the danger of mosquito nets for fishing by Api Podder My Social Good News.