Authors:

Kevin Njabo

Date Created:

2026-05-08

Course Title:

Professor:

Not specified

About Paper:

Aquatic ecosystems worldwide face increasing human–wildlife conflicts as fishing activities overlap with critical habitats for vulnerable species. Human–wildlife interactions in artisanal fisheries exemplify socio-ecological systems that necessitate adap¬tive management approaches, integrating ecological and social dimensions. This study integrates socio-ecological systems theory and quantitative modelling to identify gear-based and attitudinal pathways for coexistence between fishermen and the African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) in Lake Ossa Wildlife Reserve, Cameroon. We conducted structured interviews with 143 fish¬ermen (1–50 years' experience) across five sites in Lake Ossa Wildlife Reserve, Cameroon, to assess entanglement patterns, net deployment configurations and attitudes toward manatees. Statistical tools included random forest imputation for missing val¬ues, Spearman correlation, chi-squared tests, multinomial logistic regression (MnLR) and Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) ordination. Manatee entanglement was reported by 70.6% of respondents, with 82.5% of which experiencing net dam¬age. MnLR revealed that fishermen with ≥ 3 entanglement incidences/month were more likely to support hunting/keeping away manatees (OR = 3.05, p = 0.03) or seek compensation (OR = 5.00, p = 0.01). Conversely, frequent manatee sightings (≥ 4 times/ month) significantly reduced negative attitudes. Nets deployed parallel to vegetation (57.3%) and circular in open water (34.3%) were most associated with fish damage. Our findings reveal that adaptive gear deployment and positive encounter frequency can shift attitudes toward coexistence, offering an empirically grounded model for transformative aquatic biodiversity conservation management in Africa.

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