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Mediterranean, we will examine the structural, social, and economic characteristics within the
sector concerning the south-west of Sicily and Tunisia.

A representative sample of Sicilian fishing companies was examined, and the economic
data concerning these companies were evaluated. The companies in the sample used fishing
techniques which were most widespread in the area under examination (otter trawling, mid-
water pair trawling, purse seining and long lining, and small-scale fishing with gillnets and
purse seines, trawls, long lines, lines, and pots).

The economic indicators determined were then examined in relation to parameters regarding
fishing effort, capacity (tonnage), and activity (days spent at sea), in order to determine the
economic productivity [3] of the various fishing techniques used in the Channel of Sicily
(according to current regulations). These results are used as a technical tool for policymaking.

The study is divided into three parts. The first is an analysis of policy guidelines laid out
by the European Union, examing specific points of action for the Mediterranean, also in
relation to Italian–Tunisian relations. The second part gives a structural overview of fishing
in the Mediterranean, with particular reference to Sicily and Tunisia, while the third part
is dedicated to a microeconomic analysis of a sample of Sicilian fisheries operating in the
Channel of Sicily.

2. Management policies for European Union fishing resources and proposed
course of action for the Mediterranean area

2.1 Reference framework

The Mediterranean Sea has a surface area of 2.5 million km2, equivalent to 0.7% of the world’s
waters, and its total coastal area stretches for approx. 46 000 km. It is surrounded by a number
of countries, and the distance between their neighbouring coasts is never more than 644 km
from each other. The continental shelf is generally narrow, and the fishing depths are fairly
close to the coasts within territorial waters. This situation, when considered together with a
whole series of political issues, probably explains why no coastal country in the Mediterranean
has so far made provision in the area of setting up exclusive economic zones (EEZ) as outlined
by the 1982 Montego Bay Convention. This is the area adjacent to the territorial waters where
the coastal state has:

• sovereign rights to the mass of water lying over the sea bed, for exploration purposes,
use, conservation and management of natural resources, living or nonliving, including the
production of energy from the waters, currents or winds;

• jurisdiction in matters of installation and use of artificial islands or permanent structures,
scientific marine research and protection and conservation of the marine environment.

The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) may extend as far as 322 km from the line marking the
beginning of territorial waters. In the case of territorial waters of 19 km, this may therefore
reach a maximum of 303 km.

‘Mare nostrum’, in fact, is an important stretch of water, through which an average of 25% of
the world’s oil passes (about 350 million tonnes each year). This situation is of primary interest
to the international community, and in particular to countries with strong naval interests, such
as the USA, in order to guarantee freedom of navigation at all times.

The delimitation of EEZs between countries with adjacent or facing coasts should be
done by agreement so that the most balanced solution is found. Sovereign rights exploration,
exploitation, and conservation of natural resources of each country in its own EEZ are mainly
expressed in exclusive fishing rights. For an enclosed sea such as the Mediterranean, it is