The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya covers 1 775 500 Km2, which is desert territory for the 90 percent. The Mediterranean Sea is in the North part of the country, while the Republic borders with Egypt to the East, Sudan to the Southeast, Chad and Niger to the South, and Algeria and Tunisia to the West. Coastline is 1 970 km and population in 2005 was estimated to be about 5.9 million inhabitants.
The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya’s marine coast lies in the FAO-GFCM Geographical Sub Area 21.
Four different types of fishing activities are normally carried out in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya: artisanal coastal fishing, lampara fishing, coastal trawling and tuna fishing. Sponge fishing is not so significant anymore as it was in the past. Most of the catches come from the nets of the artisanal vessels targeting demersal fishes and lampara targeting the small pelagic fishes, while tunas industrial fishery provides less than four percent of the total landed. Inland fishery is negligible.

Aquaculture is a recent activity in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and nevertheless the Government effort in promoting projects and pushing private enterprises start up, the production is still below the expected performances.
The fleet is mainly composed by artisanal vessel (92.5 percent), the rest of the fleet is made of 135 lampara vessel and 15 tuna vessel including, purse seines and long liners. About 66 percent of the small crafts are equipped with an outboard engine between 10-35 Hp range. The 1 866 artisanal vessels land their catches in 135 landing places, 76 of which are permanent while the rest work on a seasonal basis.

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya domestic fisheries product in 2006 was approximately 40 827 tonnes, 40 347 of which from capture fisheries and 480 from aquaculture.
Fishery imports, in the period 2003-2005, totalled an annual average of about 11 748 tonnes, while fish exports stood at 3 275 tonnes.
Fishery imports in 2006 totalled about 33 288 (1 000 USD) while exports was 7 647 (1 000 USD) with a net balance of -25 641 (1 000 USD). In 2003-2005, average per capita supply was 9.5 kg/year. (FAO, 2008).