Mediterraneo dei pescatori Mediterraneo delle reti
Maria Lucia De Nicolo
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Abstract
Trawling in the Mediterranean in the Modern period. Ancient instruments and politics for the development of these productions and the conservation of the resource This study examines various sources, even with references to the Ancient world, which reveal to the origin and evolution of some fishing methods that from the end of the 16th century contribute to an important development of this field. For the first time, we assisted in the formation along some coasts of the Mediterranean (Tyrrhenian and Adriatic) of fishing companies specialized in offshore fishing techniques transferring fishermen's trawl, already tested in the lagoon and lake areas, even far from the banks. At the same time, new ship types are built with the adoption of rigs, in order to improve sailing techniques in deep-sea, as well as new fishing nets are made. The development of these productions, especially in the 18th century, with the increase in the number of flotilla dedicated to trawl, fueled heated debate among expertise's: on one hand the deep-sea fishermen urged to increase production; on the other hand, other traditional coastal fishermen lined up to defend and preserve the fish fauna, respecting their biological cycle and more generally the marine environment. The conflict between the two categories draw the attention of governments, in relation to the protection of territorial waters from the devastating effects caused by instruments used to plow the seabed. Hence the periodic issuance of prohibitive or restrictive notices of fishermen's practices. The analysis of the legislation on the regulation of fisheries, since the 16th century, highlights the interest of government authorities, also in terms of case law, on a subject, that of the harvesting of the sea and its resource management, which remained hitherto of marginal interest in state politics. It highlights the role played by the Catalan, Provencal and, for Italy, the Gaeta first and then the Adriatic fishermen.
