As the fishing season began on Sept. 1, fishermen sailed off into the Sea of Marmara from ports in ?stanbul’s Kumkap?, Sar?yer and Rumeli Feneri districts to fill their nets in spite of bad weather conditions. After the first fishing trip of the season, fishermen mostly said the outcome was cause for optimism, hoping that there will be more fish in the coming days.
The ?stanbul Seafood and Animal Products Exporters’ Union organized an event last weekend in the Kireçburnu neighborhood of Sar?yer district to celebrate the opening of the new fishing season. Speaking at the event, Tuncay Sagun, president of the union, made a statement regarding the new fishing season and current problems in the sector. First of all, I wish all fishermen a season of abundance and good earnings. In the new season we expect an abundance of horse mackerel, anchovies and sardines in our seas. This season will be different from the others. This is because we will focus on the problems of the fishing sector in order to overcome the difficulties fishermen face during fishing. Moreover, our main target is to increase fish exports to all countries and introduce the taste of our products to the world. In order to introduce the Turkish sector, we are already attending fairs and related events, as well as holding some activities, Sagun said.
Sagun also noted that they are going to obey the fishing regulations that aim to preserve the species of fish in Turkish seas and sustain the fishing business. We make a living out of the sea. We must and will obey the regulations for the sake of the longevity of the fishing business. The seas belong to us. If we do not protect them, nobody will. The seas are our home, Sagun added.
Murat Kuzucu, a 35-year-old fish seller at ?stanbul’s Yenikap? fish market, told Sunday’s Zaman that although last year was not a good year in terms of fishing, he hopes that things will be different in the new season. Stating that fish is currently being sold at low prices compared with previous years, Kuzucu noted: Although fishermen go through a lot of trouble in order to catch fish, they can only make a small profit. This is not the case just for them. We fish sellers also make little profit. Let me inform you about fish prices. For example, one case of anchovies is sold for TL 30. In the Marmara region, anchovy prices are lower than in the Mediterranean region because they are abundant in both the Black Sea and Marmara Sea. The price of anchovies will even drop to TL 4-5 in the upcoming weeks.
Hakk? Kara, who has been fishing in the Marmara region for 25 years, said that they had returned from the catch on the first day of the fishing season with only 35 cases of anchovies. This is one of the worst beginnings I have ever seen in the past couple of years. Unfortunately, this might be the indication of a bad season. But it is too early to say anything now. We will wait and see in the upcoming days. Everything might turn out really well. But I can confidently say that the Marmara is not the sea it used to be. I remember the nights when I returned from the catch with more than 150 cases of anchovies. I think this is mostly because of the unbalanced weather. The constantly changing temperature has a negative impact on the number of fish, Kara noted.
Stating that over the last 10 years, the consumption of fish has doubled, and Kara claimed that the number of fish in the sea is also gradually declining every year. The growing population in ?stanbul and wider access to cheap seafood, without taking into account any environmental or social costs, has unfortunately had a harsh negative impact on the number of fish. Moreover, fishermen are allowed to catch three months’ worth of fish in a month. The same story happens every year. The fish supply is being finished in just one month.”
Statistics show that 77 percent of the fish in Turkey come from the Black Sea region, while the rest is provided by the Sea of Marmara with 9 percent, the Aegean with 9 percent and the Mediterranean with 5 percent. In the general catch, most commercial fishing is done with trawl and sweeping nets. Eighty-two percent of the whiting and 77 percent of the red mullet is caught with trawl nets. There are 752 fishing vessels of various sizes registered just in Samsun on the Black Sea, where thousands of registered vessels go fishing.
Another fisherman on the Zeytinburnu coast, who was sailing to the eastern parts of the Marmara Sea, said that although last year was more abundant, he had still caught large numbers of anchovies this year. I caught eight tons’ worth of anchovies in one day, so I can say that I expect this year to be good in terms of fishing, though last year was better,” he said.
However, fishermen working in the Black Sea were more successful than their colleagues on their first day of fishing because of the windy weather. Sunday’s Zaman also got in contact with fishermen in the Black Sea region, gathering information from the Eastern Black Sea Fishery Cooperation Union. More than 100 boats sailed into the Black Sea from the province of Trabzon at midnight to mark the end of the fishing ban on Sept. 1, and they have made a good start this year with the fish caught, a representative from the union told Sunday’s Zaman.
Sinop Fisheries Cooperative member Sait Demirta? said the first catch of the season in the Black Sea was better than expected. Throughout the night, we were able to catch more fish in our nets than we expected. This good start indicates that this year’s fishing season will be a promising one. 2013 wasn’t a good year in terms of fishing. But, according to my personal observations in the Black Sea, the first night of fishing shows that this fishing season will be very bountiful. We are particularly hopeful about anchovies. We wish all fishermen a season of abundance and good earnings, Demirta? told Sunday’s Zaman.
We managed to catch more than last year. People in the Black Sea region will be able to eat cheap fish, since we caught large numbers of mackerel, horse mackerel and haddock. One mackerel is being sold for TL 5, fisherman Murat Bilen said in Samsun.
According to the previous season’s data, the total amount of fish from both fishing and fish farming came to 640,758 tons, down 2.37 percent from 644,852 tons in 2012.
Feza Gazetecilik A.?. 2007