Overseas
The Central Mediterranean is not merely a geographical space. For Mazara del Vallo, it means work, memory, identity and, often, a place of unresolved tensions. This awareness is the starting point of the conference “The Mediterranean Sea between Fisheries, Migration, Resources, Conflicts and New Hopes – Maritime Borders, Security and Cooperation between Europe and North Africa in the Central Mediterranean”, scheduled for Saturday, May 16, at 10:30 a.m., at the Aula Magna of the Episcopal Seminary of Mazara del Vallo.
The event, organized by API – Associazione Progetto Isola, will take place alongside the international literary competition Mazara Narrativa e Poesia 2026, this year dedicated to the fishing vessel Massimo Garau and to all victims of the sea. This dedication gives the debate a deeper meaning, closely linked to the history of fishing communities, the safety of fishermen and the still-open wounds in the relationship between the two shores of the Mediterranean.
The conference will bring together speakers from the academic, scientific, political and business worlds, with the aim of moving beyond the idea of the Mediterranean as a frontier of division. From this perspective, the sea is seen as a shared space to be governed through cooperation, common rules and mutual responsibility.
Particular attention will be devoted to the Italy-Libya area, one of the most sensitive issues for Sicilian fisheries and for the fishing fleet of Mazara del Vallo. The debate will focus on the safety of maritime workers, the exploitation of fishery resources, fishing grounds, unilaterally declared protection zones and the need to build diplomatic tools capable of reducing tensions and uncertainty.
The technical focus of the meeting will be the analysis of Regulation (EU) 2017/2403, concerning the sustainable management of external fishing fleets. This will open a broader reflection on how European rules can be harmonized with the concrete needs of fishing fleets operating in the Central Mediterranean, in a context often shaped by complex legal and geopolitical balances.
Alongside regulatory aspects, the conference will also address the issue of sustainability. The Sicily Channel is a strategic area for fisheries, but also a delicate ecosystem. For this reason, any form of development and cooperation will have to combine work, biodiversity protection, transparency of activities and responsible resource management.
Fisheries, migration, resources, conflicts and security will therefore be addressed as parts of the same Mediterranean scenario. The goal is not only to analyze problems, but to try to outline a possible road map made of legal, diplomatic and operational solutions to overcome the deadlock that has affected relations between Italy and Libya for decades.
For Mazara del Vallo, a city deeply connected to the sea, the event represents an important opportunity to bring the condition of fishermen, the future of the fishing fleet and the need for stable cooperation between Europe and North Africa back to the center of public debate.
The Mediterranean remains a complex space, crossed by crises, interests and fragilities. But precisely for this reason, it can also become the place from which to start again, building new forms of dialogue from work, safety and the real life of the communities that continue to inhabit the sea.
