Fishing season set to open amid calls to work on ‘sustainability’

Turkey's annual fishing season will open tomorrow after a 4.5-month ban as experts call for efforts to ensure the sustainability of sea products.

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"In order to use resources efficiently, aquaculture training centers should be established, aquaculture, hunting and R&D studies should be supported more, and the organizational structure in the sector should be strengthened," Şemsi Bayraktar, the head of the Union of Turkish Chambers of Agriculture (TZOB), said yesterday.

A fishing ban is imposed every year between April 15 and Sept. 1 to preserve fish eggs and ensure sustainable fish farming.

Last year, Turkish fishing fleets caught 171,253 tons of anchovies, marking nearly 59 percent of all hunted fishery. Sprat (26,804 tons) and sardines (22,743 tons) followed it.

Overall, Turkey's total hunted fishery volume decreased 23.2 percent year on year in 2020 to 364,400 tons, whereas aquaculture products increased 4.8 percent to 421,411 tons, according to Bayraktar's remarks.

In 2010, Turkish fishermen had caught 485,939 tons of fish.

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"The amount of hunted anchovy also dropped 37.7 percent compared to the previous year in 2020. In the same year, the amount of fishery products consumption per capita increased from 6.2 kilograms to 6.7 kilograms, but the amount of water products consumption per capita is still below the world average," Bayraktar said.

"Supply and demand equilibrium should be restored in a bid to do sustainable fishing. Price stability should be ensured, while educational and promotional activities are expanded to increase consumption," Bayraktar added.

On the other hand, Turkish fish farms have been developing on the country's 8,333 kilometer-long coastlines in recent years.