Ministry warns fishermen on Syria border breaching

HATAY - Anatolia News Agency

Dragnet boats wait idle at an İskenderun port. Turkey has warned its fishermen to keep away from the territorial waters of the unrest-hit country. AA photo

The Turkish Agriculture, Food and Livestock Ministry has warned Turkish fishermen about breaching the territorial waters of Syria while fishing in international waters.

Celal Bilen, the vice president of the Aquaproducts Cooperative in İskenderun, a port city on the Mediterranean close to the Syrian border, told Anatolia news agency yesterday that the ministry had sent a statement on the issue to fishermen.

The Syrian authorities had warned the Turkish Foreign Ministry about possible breaches of Syrian territorial waters by Turkish fishermen, Bilen said.

The Turkish ministry’s letter “says we should be more careful considering the current situation in Turkey and latest developments in the region. For this reason, fishermen who are fishing in the region will be warned, and they will be informed that they should avoid violating territorial waters,” said Bilen.