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Fishery management in the Channel of Sicily 419

Sicily, between Cape Bon and Cape Lilibeo. From a legal point of view, the Channel of Sicily
is not an international strait, since, in the middle, there is a 80-km-wide area of international
waters stretching between the territorial waters of Italy and Tunisia (where there is the freedom
of transit).

3.1.1 Sicily. In order to provide the most precise and detailed picture possible of the struc-
ture of regional fishery in the Channel of Sicily, the entire fishing effort carried out in 2004
by Sicilian fishing fleets along the western coast overlooking the area in question has been
analysed, taking into consideration capacity, activity, and the composition of the fleet.

Research was conducted by analysing data regarding production by the 11 fisheries located
along the southern coast of western Sicily (Mazara del Vallo, Porto Empedocle, Lampedusa,
Licata, Sciacca, Egadi islands, Marsala, Pantelleria, and Trapani), which administratively
speaking come under the three coastal sectors of Mazara del Vallo, Porto Empedocle, and
Trapani (see figure 1).

Information regarding company production is based on the EU register of fishing
fleets, available from the European Commission General Directorate of Fishery [13]
(http://europa.eu.int/comm/fisheries/fleet/index_it.htm). In 2004, the fishing fleet belong-
ing to Sicilian ports along the western stretch of coast facing the Channel of Sicily numbered
1080 boats, equivalent to a tonnage of 40 149.8 GRT and 45 845.0 GT with an engine capacity
of 158 855.5 kW. The average tonnage for the vessels was 37.18 GRT (43.25 GT), while the
average engine capacity was slightly less than 150 kW per vessel (see table 2).

Comparing these indicators with the national ‘fishing capacity’, the importance of the fleet in
question emerges. Although, numerically, it represents only 6.9% of the national fleet (15 572

Figure 1. Channel of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea.