PROFESSIONAL FISHERMEN AS THE GATEWAY TO THE MEDITERRANEAN BATHYAL REALM: TWO CENTURIES OF RESEARCH IN THE LIGURIAN SEA

Abstract

How did the Mediterranean deep sea become a scientific object? This paper addresses that question through a historical reconstruction of bathyal research in the Ligurian Sea between the early nineteenth and the late twentieth centuries. Rather than attributing the emergence of Mediterranean bathyal ecology solely to scientific discoveries or technological innovations, it demonstrates that the progressive exploration of the deep sea resulted from a long-lasting collaboration between marine zoologists and professional fishermen. From Antoine Risso and Jean-Baptiste Vérany to Raffaele Issel, Enrico Tortonese, Lucia Rossi, Lidia Orsi and Giulio Relini, successive generations of researchers incorporated the practical knowledge and fishing technologies developed by Ligurian fishermen into their scientific investigations. The introduction of mechanised deep-water trawling in 1930 enabled Issel to establish the first systematic programme devoted to Mediterranean bathyal ecology, while the uninterrupted collaboration with the Ligurian fishing communities ensured the continuity of this research tradition for almost two centuries. The study argues that the Ligurian case represents one of the longest documented traditions of collaboration between fishermen and marine biologists in the Mediterranean and shows that the deep sea became scientifically observable through the combined action of technological innovation, empirical fishing knowledge and zoological interpretation. By integrating the history of marine biology with the history of fisheries, the paper offers a new perspective on the emergence of Mediterranean bathyal ecology.