Fishermen cast lines as seasonal fishing ban ends

Hundreds of fishermen are set to cast their diligently prepared nets into the sea as the four-and-a-half-month fishing ban draws to a close on the midnight of Aug. 31.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı are also expected to attend an opening event of the fishing season in Istanbul's Beykoz district as the fishing boats will head back to the sea with the official lifting of the seasonal ban.

After the ban that started on April 15, the fishermen who pulled their boats ashore and prepared for the new season weeks in advance have already completed net repairs and boat maintenance efforts. The fishermen, who spent the fishing ban period in preparations, started loading their mended nets onto the boats on Aug. 31.

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

Namık Ünlü, the head of the Sinop Central Fisheries Cooperative Union, noted that in the waning week prior to the advent of the fishing season, a palpable blend of eagerness and flurry enveloped the entire fishing fraternity, citing that the Black Sea's biggest source of income could be affected by climate change this year.

Anticipating a decrease in the catch of bonito, which was plentiful in previous years, Ünlü noted that the fishermen will be quite fortunate in terms of anchovy and horse mackerel, which are among the most consumed fish in the country.

He stated that despite the arrival of September, the water temperature in the Black Sea still exceeds the realm of seasonal norms due to climate crisis and global warming, preventing the fish from approaching the shore.

"A decrease in seawater temperatures to 15 or to 17 degrees increases the...