Sicilian fishermen want larger fishing zone

Sicilian fishermen are planning to lobby Italian authorities and the country's European parliamentarians to iron out discrepancies between the fishing areas allotted to Malta and Sicily.

Nello Maialino, a representative of the Portopalo fishermen, said it was ironic that Malta had a 25-mile fishing zone when Sicily, with nearly three times the number of registered fishing vessels, had a mere 12-mile zone.

Mr Maialino said the fishing zone should be distributed according to the fishing fleet and according to the size of the islands.

"Just 12 miles is far too little for all Portopalo's fishing community that depends on the trade for their livelihood. There are 600 families out of a total of 3,000 inhabitants who depend on fishing. We want the fishing zone to be split equally or according to the fleet or the size of land," he said.

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Fisheries Management Zone
Malta has a special 25-mile zone, which falls under the parameters of a fisheries management zone. After EU membership it replaced the 25-mile exclusive fishing zone acquired in 1971 in accordance with the UN's Convention of the Law of the Sea.

The aim of this zone is to protect the fisheries' resources of the sea area and the ecosystems on which they depend. With few exceptions only vessels smaller than 12 metres are allowed to fish within the zone.

The EU arrangement does not discriminate between Maltese and EU fishermen, so Maltese fishermen who own boats larger than 12 metres lost their right to fish in the 25-mile zone upon membership in 2004.

To learn more about Sicily visit Sicily Tourist Guide

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“To have seen Italy without Sicily - is not to have seen Italy at all,
as Sicily is the key to everything” - Goethe

Sicily, The World's Next Great Retirement Destination(TM) of LivingInSicily.com -a forum for those who love Sicily and those who seek information about living in Sicily or moving to Sicily.

Sicily deep sea fishing, Italy's most important fishing spot can be yours for the day!

When doing research for this article about a nice Deep sea fishing trip around Sicily and her 14 sister islands. This funny definition came up during a Google search "Sicilian Fishing Trips" - "A journey on a boat arranged by a group of mobsters who secretly plan to kill you and toss your body in to the water". These Sicilian's really managed to get a bad image, even today's Sicily is probably one of the safest retirement destinations in Europe and South America as no gangs from Latin America or Russia dare to fight over the territory of "Don Corleone", and Sicilian seafood is just amazing!

Sicily is most famous for its Deep-sea shrimp fishery, highly specialized fishery in the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea)for the "red shrimp"; Shrimp fishing in Sicily is carried out by fishing companies using trawlers and multifunctional vessels equipped with trawling nets, in a complex context where the big trawlers depart beyond 40 miles from the Sicilian coast. The three most important shrimp fishing ports in Sicily: Mazara del Vallo, Sciacca, and Porto Empedocle

But its the annual tune fishing festival that drags tourists to Sicily year after year; It all happens in Capo Passero, province of Siracusa, tuna fishing in this part of Sicily is perhaps the oldest in the world.

At least 5 types of tuna pass through the zone returning from the Adriatic. The Sicilian fishermen catch the tuna in a traditional festival every year in May and June known as the "Mattanza". They lead the fish into a chamber, called la camera della morte, which has a net floor that can be raised. The tunas, mostly blue fin, are then brought to the surface and killed. During this festival, while the tuna are being caught, Tonnarotti sing special songs called scialome which have been passed down for so long that much of the meaning has now been lost. The term 'mattanza' comes from the old Spanish word, matar, while other words, such as rais (the head fisherman of the mattanza), are of Arabic origin. There are only a few genuine mattanzas left now, and these are all to be found to the west of Sicily, among the Egadi Islands.

With a catch of almost 30 thousand tons a year, Mazara del Vallo is today the most important fishing port in Italy. Located on Sicily's western coast, it is the leading Italian region for fish production, regarding both values and volume. This sector provides work for more than 5,000 people, a fifth of which are North African immigrants. Situated on a coastal plain irrigated by two rivers, the port, right back to ancient times, has provided shelter for boats. With regard to fishing, the beginning of this activity dates back to 1920 with the introduction of motors which allowed the development of deep-sea fishing which is able to respond to market needs. In addition to traditional fishing for sardines and anchovies, the search then went on for other species. You can buy many of these delicious products from Sicilian Marketplace and have them shipped directly to your doorstep.

Fish production in Mazara adds up to an overall figure of 100 million euro a year; almost 3 thousand tons of shrimps of different types alone is catch around Sicily. Sicilian tuna, sardines, anchovies, red shrimps and squid are world famous for its delicious taste.

If you are looking to discover an amazing deep sea fishing trip off the coast of Sicily while on vacation in Sicily, you should visit SicilyFishing.com

To learn more about Sicily visit Sicily Tourist Guide

To get updates about the Best of Sicily follow us at www.twitter.com/SicilyToday

The taste of Sicily is only a click away - Get the best Sicilian gourmet food delivered directly to your doorstep from www.Sicilian-Marketplace.com - The TOP 100 most sold Sicilian food products online. Our Sicily marketplace is powered by the worlds biggest online shopping site - best customer satisfaction guaranteed!

Interested in the best Italian sparkling wine? - taste like Champagne, but for a fraction of the price! Pinot Prosecco

“To have seen Italy without Sicily - is not to have seen Italy at all,
as Sicily is the key to everything” - Goethe

Sicily, The World's Next Great Retirement Destination(TM) of LivingInSicily.com -a forum for those who love Sicily and those who seek information about living in Sicily or moving to Sicily.