Anchovy in danger of extinction due to overfishing

TRABZON

Despite the abundance of anchovies, which have been caught in limited amounts in the Black Sea last year, experts are concerned about next year because of "excessive fishing."

With the start of the fishing season in the Eastern Black Sea on Sept. 1, fishermen continue to cast their nets into the sea.

There is an abundance of anchovies, which were caught in limited quantities in the Black Sea in the previous season. While anchovy prices fell as the supply increased, experts warned of "overfishing," stating that excessive fishing could lead to the extinction of anchovies in the future.

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Kocabaş of the Black Sea Technical University (KTU) Faculty of Forestry Wildlife Ecology and Management stated that the abundantly hunted bonito last year declined, and the same situation may be seen in anchovy next season. "If we continue the hunting pressure in this manner, we will not see anchovies on the counter in the near future," Kocabaş added.

"Anchovy are making their way along the Black Sea coast, and our ships are after them. There should always be safeguards in effect. The state should conduct the most stringent inspections, and the repercussions should be severe. True fishermen must be protected," Kocabaş stated.

Pointing out that there is a climactic change this year, Kocabaş added, "Last year, we overfished bonito, chinook, and bluefish, which are anchovy predators. When we lifted the hunting pressure on anchovies last year, it became a little more abundant this year; but this will not always be the case. If we catch a lot of anchovies this year, we might not see both of them next year. It is dependent on various environmental factors within the biological cycle, not only hunting. There are numerous reasons for this, including food supply, food abundance, predator abundance, and the food consumed by anchovies," Kocabaş added.