ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF THE FISHERIES IN ITALY. 327 
of the fishing industry chiefly by reason of the dietetic precept of abstinence 
from meat during certain days of the week which it imposes on its followers; 
and we are reminded of the fact that the Church was established by a fisherman, 
and that several of his colleagues were of the same calling. It is undeniable that 
the Church exercised a favorable influence on the industry of fishing, which 
flourished and received further stimulus when Italy, under the republics of 
Venice, Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi, which were essentially maritime states, began 
to send fishermen all over the Mediterranean and found in fishery the most 
efficient and practical school for raising a population of able seamen, to whom 
is essentially due the greatness acquired by those famous republics. 
Even to-day Italy maintains preeminence in fishing in the Mediterranean, 
which is due to the Italian labor engaged in this industry. Italian fishermen 
are to be found all along the coast of Algeria, Tunis, Tripoli, the eastern shore 
of the Adriatic, and in the Greek Archipelago, often engaged in the most danger- 
ous and varied forms of fishing, whether it be spearing the swordfish in the 
Messina Straits or plunging into the waters surrounding the Lampedusa Isle 
in search of sponges, trapping the tunny-fish on the western coast of Sicily and 
Sardinia, netting the shoals of sardines on the coast of Tuscany, or exercising 
themselves in the ingenious methods of coral fishing on the north African coast; 
all of which are special branches of fishing in which the Italians have attained 
great proficiency and enjoy a world-wide prestige and demand. They are also 
the support of important industries, such as the canning of tunny-fish, sardines, 
and anchovies, which find natural facilities in Italy’s large production of the 
olive oil required in their packing. 
Italy, however, with a seashore extending over 4,300 miles and a population 
of about 115,000 men that derives its means of livelihood from the sea, man- 
ning about 24,500 fishing boats, has a yearly output of fresh fish representing a 
value of only about 22,000,000 lire. Even allowing for the imperfection with 
which the statistical data are gathered, considering the great extension of her 
shore and the great amount of labor engaged in this pursuit, these figures show 
at once that the fishing industry in Italy, however traditional and assisted by 
the natural inclination of the people to it, is still far behind the reasonable expec- 
tations of the country, especially from the standpoint of the profit that the 
fisherman derives from his industry, which is unfortunately lower than in any 
other important country of Europe. 
The cause of these conditions, which make the task of the fisherman in 
Italy a rather thankless one, is. not to be found in any want of activity or energy 
on his part, but to circumstances over which the husbandman of the sea 
has practically no control and very little means whereby to better things. Such 
are, for instance, the much discussed depauperation of fish in the waters where he 
exercises his activity, accentuated by the fact that no tentative effort has yet 
been made in Italy with regard to the restocking of maritime waters with fish; 
