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174 A. Reale et al.

illnesses. The two active ingredients that make up omega 3 fatty acids are eicosapentenoic acid
(EPA) and docosahexenoic acid (DHA). It was also seen that the lack of DHA in membrane
phospholipids of erythrocytes is inversely proportional to the insurgence of cardiac illnesses
[4–6]. Furthermore, recent studies [7] have related the lack of these fatty acids to patients
suffering from major depressive disorders.
In the last few years, fish demand in Italy has greatly increased, and contextually a cultural
change has been taking place in the food sector at both production and distribution levels. In
today’s society, consumers seem to be strongly conditioned by the search for quality; this term
assumes a particular significance when it is applied to an alimentary product. The nutritional
quality is the aspect of a food product that has recently attracted general interest; in the choice
of different food items, the contribution of fundamental elements, such as, protein, lipids,
sugar, minerals, and vitamins, tends to represent almost a common point of reference in the
daily diet, because they are the best for growth and maintenance of the human organism.
However, in spite of the enormous economic value of seafood, limited information is
available on the chemical composition and nutritional value in marine species found in the
Mediterranean and neighbouring seas.
The primary focus of this research was to determine the chemical and nutritional profile of
some marine species from the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of the Egadi Islands, which are
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very important for the economy of these islands and for the human diet.

This study was conducted in the fishery of Favignana and Marettimo in the Egadi Islands
(figure 1). Initially, we defined the typology of fishing practised by the boats of the fishery of

Figure 1. Map of Egadi Island.