These are the numbers that can be read on the boxes in fishmongers and on all the packaging of fish products. Established by the FAO the United Nations organization for food and agriculture, to indicate the different fishing areas in the oceans and inland seas.

Numbers that are not always followed by the name or an explanatory image as required, so they are often difficult to understand for buyers. And instead of the purpose of that numerical indication is precisely to guarantee maximum information and transparency on the origin of fish, crustaceans and molluscs intended for consumption, to allow the consumer to make an informed choice.

The FAO codes are composed, in order, of numbers that indicate the Zones, or the parts of the oceans identified as the main references and, within them, other numbers identify the Subzones and, as a further specification, the Divisions. The FAO Zone that most directly concerns Italy is number 37, which identifies the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. This includes three subzones, each of which is divided into some divisions.

Subarea 37.1 identifies the western Mediterranean Sea, from Gibraltar to the western coast of the Peninsula. Within it, there are division: 37.1.1 for the Balearic Sea; division 37.1.2 for the Gulf of Lion; division 37.1.3 for the Sardinian Sea, including the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Subarea 37.2 concerns the central Mediterranean Sea, from the eastern coast of Italy to the Balkans and in North Africa Tunisia and Libya. It includes Division 37.2.1 of the Adriatic Sea and Division 37.2.2 of the Ionian Sea.

Subarea 37.3 is the eastern Mediterranean Sea with Division 37.3.1 for the Aegean Sea and Division 37.3.2 for the Levantine Sea, which reaches the coasts of Greece, Türkiye, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt.

Zone 37.4 identifies the Black Sea.

THE OTHER FAO ZONES: Zone 18 Arctic Sea; Zone 21 Northwest Atlantic; Zone 27 Northeast Atlantic; Zone 31 West Central Atlantic; Zone 34 East Central Atlantic; Zone 41 Southwest Atlantic; Zone 47 Southeast Atlantic; Zone 48 Atlantic, Antarctic; Zone 51 Western Indian Ocean; Zone 57 Eastern Indian Ocean; Zone 58 Antarctic and South Indian Ocean; Zone 61 Northwest Pacific; Zone 67 Northeast Pacific; Zone 71 West Central Pacific; Zone 77 East Central Pacific; Zone 81 Southwest Pacific; Zone 87 Southeast Pacific; Zone 88 Antarctic Pacific.

European indications

According to the provisions of EC Regulation No. 1379/2013, in particular Article 35, fish placed on the market must bear, mandatorily, the commercial name, in accordance with the official list of fish species drawn up by each country, and the corresponding scientific name; the indication of fishing gear and methods of capture and the FAO fishing zone, to recognize the product and its origin, which also concerns the seasonality of the fish product.