CHIOGGIA’S FLEET FISHERY MIGRATION IN THE ADRIATIC SEA BETWEEN THE 19TH AND THE 20TH CENTURIES*. Botter L., Giovanardi O., Raicevich S. ICRAM – Central Institute for Marine Research, Loc. Brondolo, 30015, Chioggia, Italy. Corresponding author: Lisa Botter,
[email protected] *This research has been carried out as a part of a survey in the frame of history of Marine Animal Population (HMAP) of the Venetian Lagoon and the Northern Adriatic, directed by Prof. R. Gertwagen, Israel, who was also kind to read and comment on the paper. Abstract Chioggia’s fishing fleet represented historically (mainly in XIX century) one of the most important fleet in the whole Adriatic Sea. For many centuries fishermen belonging to this town were used to exploit several fishing grounds all over this area, migrating along its coastline according to fishing season and climate conditions. In this paper we describe the fishing activity of Chioggia’s fleet between the 19th and the early 20th centuries. Fishing fleet features such as type and number of fishing vessels, fishing gears and spatio-temporal distribution of the fishing activities will be presented along with a description of the main target species caught in different areas. The social-economic implications of such activity, such like conflicts with other fleets, will also be discussed. Introduction Chioggia is located in the southern part of the Venetian Lagoon, along the western shallow sandy coastline of the northernmost part of the Adriatic Sea. This city is connected to the sea by an inlet or “bocca di porto” of the port of Chioggia. Chioggia’s position has encouraged, in the past, salt and fishing activities.