The fishery of wild fish fry in the Mediterranean
Over a long time, marine fish rearing in the Mediterranean region has been exclusively based on collection of
wild juveniles from the sea. This has been practised for various extensive culture systems, taking advantage of
the natural trophic migration of juveniles from the sea into coastal lagoons.
The Egyptian “hosha” is one of the simplest extensive systems used for the exploitation of wild stocks while
the “vallicoltura”, in north-eastern Italy, is probably the most specialized model of lagoon management for
extensive fish rearing. In this case, wild fry are kept in the lagoon by placing fish-barriers (called “lavorieri”)
along the channels that link the lagoon to the sea. The special design of these fixed traps allows fish to enter
the lagoon and impedes their reverse migration to the sea. The “lavorieri” are also used to harvest fish once they
have reached marketable size. This culture system requires highly skilled personnel for lagoon management
and an intensive use of juveniles from the sea.