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An analysis of the influence of environmental conditions on the pelagic fish community structure and species distribution in two areas of the Central Mediterranean sea, the Sicilian–Maltese and the Libyan continental shelves, is presented. The Libyan waters suffer from the lack of historical information on these species, and a thorough characterisation of the pelagic fish community is missing for the entire study area. In summer 2008, two multidisciplinary surveys permitted for the first time the collection of acoustic, biological, and hydrological data in the Libyan, Maltese, and Italian waters of the Central Mediterranean. Satellite and in situ measurements were used here to describe the environmental conditions characterising the two ecosystems, and to analyse the relationships between environmental factors and pelagic community structure, and pelagic fish biomass. The datasets support the hypothesis of a …