Official urges people not to buy fish smaller than specified size

ISTANBUL/SAMSUN

A senior official urged the public not to buy bluefish smaller than 18 centimeters since the species is on the verge of extinction in Turkish waters.

Altuğ Atalay, Turkey’s Fisheries Directorate general manager, has called on people not to buy the small size bluefish, known as "çinekop" in Turkish, reminding them that the fishing of them was prohibited in Turkish waters.

He also said that 59 more species in Turkish waters were taken under protection and that the fishing of endangered groupers was also banned and included in this scope.

“It is forbidden in here to sell stingrays and sharks sold in Greece. Turkey protects 22 species of sharks. We are one of the exemplary countries in the world in protectionism,” Atalay noted.

Underlining the “great importance” of sustainable fishing, Atalay stated that a total of 309 fishing boats, 107 of which are in the Marmara Sea, were found to be not complying with the rules and were confiscated by the authorities.

Meanwhile, Atıf Malkoç, the head of a fishing cooperative in the Black Sea province of Samsun, said that anchovies migrated early from the Turkish coast this year due to falling sea water temperatures.

Malkoç stated that sea water temperatures in the Black Sea region are at 14 degrees Celsius, and anchovy herds are abundant on the relatively cooler coasts of Georgia and Abkhazia.

He also noted the size of the anchovy did not grow at the desired level, and that there was a size problem in all fish species due to the increasing sea temperature.