Fewer fish in cages gives better prices

Seabass and seabream farms expanded both production and exports in 2014.

Production in Turkish fisheries was lower in 2014 than the previous year while aquaculture production was stable. Fisheries production fell by over a fifth maintaining the overall trend of the last decade, but farmed fish, despite a sizeable decrease in the production of farmed trout, remained at broadly the same level as in 2013 thanks to increases in output of seabass and seabream.

Production from capture fisheries in Turkey has been falling for the last decade. In 2005 production was 380 thousand tonnes, a figure which dropped to 266 thousand tonnes in 2014. This includes both finfish and other marine products. In 2014 the most important species in terms of volume were anchovies, sprat, Atlantic bonito and pilchard. Between 2013 and 2014 catches of sprat and Atlantic bonito increased, while those of sprat and anchovies fell, in the case of the latter by almost 50% from 180,000 tonnes to 97,000 tonnes. Of the 67 species for which catches are recorded, 72% showed a decline in 2014 compared with 2013.

Fall in wild catches continues

Many of the species caught in the Mediterranean are high value demersal fish. The authors of a 2014 study in Current Biology (The alarming decline of Mediterranean fish stocks) attribute the reduction in catches of these species to several factors including reduced selectivity, which results in younger fish getting caught before they have had a chance to breed, higher exploitation rates (the proportion of the biomass removed by fishing each year), and shrinking stocks. In addition fishing pressure in breeding and nursery areas is often high and minimum landing sizes are not always biologically defensible. The authors also point out that weak institutions and the inability to effectively enforce the law also play a role as does the lack of catch limits. IUU fishing in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea is only adding to the problem. In the Mediterranean the main species targeted include the swordfish and bluefin tuna, clams, and shrimps, while in the Black Sea it is sturgeon and turbot. According to Mr Bayram Öztürk, Chairperson of the GFCM Working Group on IUU fishing in the Mediterranean and Black Sea IUU fishing is due to the lack of transparency in catches and landings and the high prices paid for some species such as bluefin tuna. Due to their relatively low earnings fishermen and inspectors are susceptible to being compromised. In addition weak institutions, insufficient implementation of technology such as vessel monitoring systems, inadequate funding and inexperienced staff all contribute to the problem. In Turkey most illegal fishing takes place in the Turkish part of the Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas using purse seines, trawls and set nets, says Murat Toplu, from the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock in an intervention at a GFCM workshop on IUU fishing in 2013. The main species targeted are bluefin tuna, swordfish, Atlantic bonito and horse mackerel. 

Several measures to combat illegal fishing were proposed at the workshop in 2013 and their status was subsequently discussed at the working group meeting this year. The proposals included a clear and transparent information system, better coordination with other stakeholders, and strengthening monitoring and control systems. A regional plan of action to fight IUU fishing and improved control of the market as well as the introduction of traceability systems to stop the trade in IUU products were also discussed. In Turkey efforts to reduce IU fishing include legislative measures as well as physical steps such as inspections and penalties if laws had been broken. Information about Turkish fisheries had also been digitised and all vessels above 15 m are equipped with vessel monitoring systems. Exports to the EU are also accompanied by all the relevant certificates to show the provenance of the fish and that it was legally caught. Data on the profitability of the Turkish fleet is scarce, but the fleet is thought to suffer from excess capacity. In 2014 the Turkish fleet comprised 14,600 vessels, of which 13,600 or 93% were below 15 m in length. Efforts have started to reduce capacity with the help of support schemes, but they have been slow to get off the ground. In 2013 only 310 vessels above 12 m in length were removed from the fleet in the Mediterranean (including the Aegean and Marmara).

Black Sea the source of most of Turkey’s catch

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Turkish catches are overwhelmingly from the Black Sea, which in 2014 accounted for over 70% followed by the Aegean and Marmara with 13% and finally the Mediterranean with 4%. In the Black Sea the main species caught by Turkey is European anchovy, followed by striped venus mussels. The purse seine fleet which targets small pelagics is the biggest in the Black Sea with almost 200 vessels compared with the other seas. In the Aegean and Marmara, anchovy, sardine, and horse mackerel together account for 75% of the catch. In the Mediterranean, from a total production of 33,300 tonnes in 2013, Atlantic bonito amounted to 40%. As catches have fallen over the years and the number of vessels has reduced so has employment in fisheries. Over the five years to 2014 catches dropped by 42% and the number of vessels declined by 12%, while employment fell by 30% to 32,600 people.

In the Aegean Sea, which has the highest catches of demersal species after the Black Sea, fishing vessels can be divided into small-scale vessels, purse seiners, and trawlers. In addition, there is a fishery in lagoons that uses traps. According to the Turkish Marine Research Foundation, the small-scale fishery vessels are 5-12 m long and use a variety of gear, lines, gill nets, trammel nets, pots and traps, and spears. Although over 4,200 in number or 97% of the Aegean fleet, these small scale vessels account for only a modest 10-20% of the catch in terms of volume. However, they target high value demersal species including mullets, seabreams, sole, cuttle fish and squid. The main bulk of the catches comes from the purse seine fishery which pulls in some 80% of the total. Purse seiners are from 18-32 m in length and are equipped with fish finding systems, such as sonar and radar. Among the species they target are anchovy, sardines, horse mackerel and mackerel. Most of the demersal fish is caught by trawlers using bottom trawls. These vessels are 15 to 25 m in length and are also well equipped with echo sounders and radar. Red mullet, hake, shrimp and sole are some of the species that are caught by this category of the fleet. The lagoon fishers set traps at the mouths of the channels that connect to the sea enabling an exchange of water between the sea and the lagoon. Mullet, seabream, seabass, eel, and sole are some of the species that are caught by these traps.

Fish farmed in marine and freshwater

Although production from capture fisheries has been declining Turkey has a vibrant aquaculture sector, whose production has been increasing steadily, although not fast enough to offset the decline in wild fisheries production. Fish farming is restricted to a relatively small number of species. This is as much to do with the commercial opportunities (demand has to justify the investment in production) as well as the technical hindrances that must be overcome to successfully farm fish. Aquaculture is practised both in fresh water and in the sea and the main species farmed by the sector are rainbow trout in inland waters and seabass and seabream in sea cages. A small number of other species, for example, meagre, although still only niche products, have been making an appearance on the market. The companies involved in farming activitie
s and the systems involved in producing these species are different. Trout farms are widely distributed over the interior of the country with pockets of concentration in parts of eastern as well as western Turkey. They are often family run enterprises with modest production volumes, however there are also a few big producers with several farming sites and an annual production that runs into thousands of tonnes. Trout farming is often in raceways drawing water from a spring or river, but some companies are farming trout in dam lakes or reservoirs using cages to hold the fish. A small number of farms is producing seatrout, breeding fry in hatcheries on land, but then introducing the fish into sea cages once they reach a certain size.

Companies farming seabass and seabream are far fewer in number (a few hundred) than those farming trout (over a thousand). This is possibly due to the greater investment required to farm seabass and seabream and the longer grow-out period before they reach market size. Many of the biggest producers are fully integrated companies with their own hatcheries, feed factories, production sites, processing facilities, as well as sales, marketing and distribution teams. Marine species apart from seabass and seabream that are farmed in noticeable quantities include meagre, and bluefin tuna. The latter is fattened rather than farmed, that is small individuals (30 kg and above) are caught in the wild, put in cages and fed until they can be sold to Japan. More recently one of the big fish farming companies in Turkey has apparently succeeded in breeding tuna from the egg stage creating a small batch of fish that are currently being grown to market size. While there is a captive market for tuna in Japan, for meagre it is more difficult. While the fish has all the attributes that should make it a success on the market (firm, white, lean, mild-tasting flesh) demand has not been as high as anticipated partly due to the conservativeness of consumers. Producers are therefore trying to promote the fish more among distributors and in the retail sector with marketing and sales campaigns.

Export of aquaculture products increase further

Farmed fish is sold both on the domestic market as well as abroad. In the case of trout about a fifth of the production of 114,000 tonnes was exported in 2014. Products are mainly smoked fillets either vacuum packed or frozen that are sent to markets in the EU. In Turkey there is no tradition for eating smoked fish and trout is typically sold fresh on ice. Seabass and seabream are exported in a variety of product forms ranging from fresh fish on ice to frozen fillets to map packaged products. Several companies are also experimenting with frozen ready meals aimed at busy people looking for a quick and nutritious meal. About 42% of the 75,000 tonnes of seabass produced in 2014 was exported, while in the case of seabream over 70% of the production of 42,000 tonnes was sent abroad. Markets for seabass and seabream are mainly in the EU, but the industry, helped by the national carrier, Turkish Airlines, has been exploring other markets with success. These include the US as well as countries in the Middle East and even the Far East. Russia too has been growing in importance particularly after the embargo on imports from the EU, but currency depreciation and a slowing economy have taken a toll. Turkish exports have been buoyed by the crisis in Greece, but most producers acknowledge that sooner or later the situation will normalise. A more lasting effect may be achieved if producers continue their practise of the last two years and put fewer juveniles into the cages. This has prevented overproduction and a slump in prices, a problem that has affected the industry many times in the past. This moderation combined with an emphasis on finding new markets and developing a wider range of products will stand the industry in good stead in the years to come.