Despite growing interest in Marine Protected Areas, relatively little is still known in practice about their economic impact or their distributional consequences for stakeholders. The present paper, based on an EU-funded project, attempts to shed light on this issue by examining the economics of an artisanal fishery operating in an area of NW Sicily from which trawlers have been excluded. The main issues examined relate to the financial performance of trammel net vessels, focussing especially on (i) current profitability levels, (ii) financial implications of changes in catch rates, (iii) financial viability of capital investment and (iv comparative performance of vessels inside and outside the trawl ban area.