This year’s big catch will be anchovy, say fishermen

SAMSUN

Fishermen in the Black Sea region are hopeful that they will catch plenty of anchovy in this hunting season that will start on Sept. 1.

However, bonito will probably be in short supply, said Atıf Malkoç, the head of the Samsun Region Aquaculture Cooperatives Union.

“Unlike this time around last year, we have seen baby bonito on the stalls. Which means there will not be plenty of bonito this season.”

This is related to weather conditions in the Black Sea, according to Malkoç.

“We think torrential rains caused this. Normally, baby bonito appear in fish markets around Aug. 10. It has not happened this year.”

Otherwise, all other fish species, including haddock, red mullet and saurel will be available this year.

Particularly, there will probably be plenty of anchovies offered to consumers, he said.

Fishermen in the province of Giresun are preparing for the new fishing season, but they are not very optimistic.

“We are almost ready to set sail. However, we are a bit concerned. Usually in this time of the year, we are supposed to catch some bonito… maybe around 200 to 300 kilograms a day… So far, no bonito to catch in the sea,” said Hamdi Arslan from the Aquaculture Cooperatives in Giresun.

They caught plenty of this fish last year, especially in the western Black Sea, he noted.

Arslan agrees that fishermen will mostly catch anchovy this season. “Yet, since the hunting season for anchovy starts early, it will probably last only until December,” he said.

Arslan complained that fish population and diversity in the Black Sea have been shrinking each year, calling for tighter fishing restrictions during the spawning period.

The fishing ban for large boats takes place between April 15 and Sept. 1.