Turkey’s fishing industry shrinking

ANKARA

HÜRRİYET photo

Turkey’s fishing industry has been shrinking gradually since 2011 due to a decrease in fishing activities, although there has been an increase in fish breeding, according to a note published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on July 7. 

The sector’s volume was around 537,345 tons in 2014 with a decrease of around 21.5 percent in sea fishing activities. The biggest decrease was seen in the production of anchovy, sardine and horse mackerel. The production of anchovy decreased by 46.3 percent to 96,440 tons in 2014 compared to the previous year. The production of sardine and horse mackerel also decreased by 24.4 percent and 42.6 percent, respectively, in 2014 compared to the previous year, according to the TÜİK data. 

There has been an increase in fish breeding activities and fish farming, said the data. The most cultivated species was trout and the production of trout increased by 48.3 percent in 2014 from the previous year. The production of sea bass and sea bream also increased last year. 

Turkey ranked seventh place in Europe in 2013 in terms of the volume of fish caught in the sea after Norway, Iceland, Spain, Denmark, United Kingdom and France with around 339,000 tons.