New zones needed for aquaculture to expand

by Thomas Jensen

M. Altug Atalay, General Director for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock

The Turkish coastline is over 8,000 km long and it borders four seas, the Mediterranean in the south, the Black Sea in the north, and the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara in the west. In addition, Turkey has plenty of inland water in the form of lakes, dam reservoirs, and rivers. These water resources yielded over 672,000 tonnes of fish in 2015 of which farmed fish amounted to just over a third.

Turkish aquaculture is dominated by the production of trout, seabass, and seabream. Trout is farmed overwhelmingly in fresh water with a small production in the Black Sea. Seabass and seabream are farmed mainly in the Aegean and the Central Anatolian part of the Mediterranean. While these three species are responsible for the bulk of the output, minor volumes of other species, such as carp and sturgeon in freshwater, and meagre, common seabream and common dentex in the sea, are also farmed. In addition, Turkey also fattens tuna caught in the wild.

Aquaculture’s impact on the environment must be limited

The aquaculture sector is an important contributor to the economy both in terms of export earnings and as a provider of employment in coastal regions, but Turkey’s coastline also has sites of cultural importance, for example along the Anatolian coast, and is very popular among domestic and international tourists. In the past the different interests that had a stake in the coast led to conflicts among the users, an issue that was resolved a few years ago when it was decreed that the aquaculture industry should move offshore to a minimum of 1,100 m (0.6 nautical miles) from the coast. Altug Atalay, General Director for Fisheries and Aquaculture, says that the aquaculture sector is important, but the administration is also concerned about its impact on the environment. By moving the cages further away from the coast to areas with greater depths and stronger currents, the effects of aquaculture production on the coastal environment are minimised. Farms also need to obtain an environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment if production exceeds 30 tonnes a year. The concern for the environment also extends to the freshwater aquaculture sector, where Dr Atalay would like to see greater use of recirculating aquaculture systems that allow fish to be farmed isolated from the surrounding environment.

Seafood production in Turkey (tonnes)
YearCapture fisheriesAquacultureGrand total
MarineInlandTotalMarineInlandTotal
2010445,68040,259485,93988,57378,568167,141653,080
2011477,65837,097514,75588,344100,446188,790703,545
2012396,32236,120432,442100,853111,557212,410644,852
2013339,04735,074374,121110,375123,019233,394607,515
2014266,07836,134302,212126,894108,239235,133537,345
2015397,73134,176431,907138,879101,455240,334672,241

The interest in protecting the coastal environment was among the reasons that led in 2008 to the
designation of certain zones for aquaculture as part of the overall coastal zone management plans. These zones, says Turgay Turkyilmaz, Deputy Director General for Fisheries, were drawn up in consultation with the other administrative bodies, such as the ministries of environment, culture, and transport. This meant that within the zones fish farmers could carry out their activities with minimal bureaucratic interference. But the sector has been expanding steadily. Production of seabass and seabream has grown from 79,000 tonnes in 2010 to 127,000 tonnes in 2015. The allocated sites are running out of capacity and the industry is asking for more. In the coastal areas allocating more space for fish farming is difficult due to concerns about the environment and resistance from the tourism industry, and if companies decide to invest in sites outside the designated zones the bureaucracy involved is formidable.

Turgay Turkyilmaz, Deputy General Director for Fisheries, Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock

Industry’s increasing size leads to greater regulation

There are some areas available in the Black Sea, but, as Mr Turkyilmaz points out, that is a very different environment from the Aegean or Mediterranean. The ministry is looking at identifying new sites in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, but it will involve coordinating efforts with the other ministries and is likely to take time. When the aquaculture sector was smaller it only involved the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock, but as the sector has grown so has its impact, and now additional ministries also participate in decisions regarding the sector. However, permissions are only part of the issue. Hayri Deniz, General Secretary of the Turkish National Aquaculture Producers Union & Mugla Fish Farmers Association, says that mariculture zones need to fulfil various criteria if they are to be suitable for the culture of fish. The water quality has to be appropriate with the right physical and chemical parameters. Water depth, distance from the coastline, and velocity of current all have to be taken into account. Additionally, there are restrictions on allocating zones close to or in special protected areas, sites of archaeological historical importance, or wild life reserves. Finally, other uses of the coast, for tourism, marine transport, recreations, fishing or urban development, must also be taken into consideration before zones can be allocated. The Turkish aquaculture strategy envisages production expanding from 235,000 tonnes in 2015 to 400,000 tonnes in 2023, the year the republic celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding, and if this target is to be achieved the issue of more sites will probably have to be resolved sooner rather than later.

The Turkish fishing fleet
YearNumber of vesselsDecommissioned vessels
201117,165 
201216,998364
201316,437456
201415,877191
201515,680 
Total 1,011

Mr Turkyilmaz acknowledges however that increased production of farmed fish is only feasible if it can also be profitably sold. If we can export the fish and increase consumption in Turkey then it should be possible, he thinks. But increasing the domestic consumption of fish, which currently stands at about 7 kg per capita, will not be easy. Many Turkish people do not like fish and getting them to change long standing eating habits is an uphill task, he says, adding that campaigns urging people to eat more fish have only been modestly successful.

Combining fish and shellfish farming may reduce pollution

The role of the environment in the freshwater aquaculture sector is also being considered. Here, recirculation aquaculture systems may come to increase in importance. Muharram Filiz, Head of the Department of Aquaculture, notes that the environment within the system can be closely controlled, they have limited external impact, and they use little new water, all of which makes these systems desirable from an environmental point of view. The ministry is encouraging the use of these systems, and so far, one tilapia farm has been granted permission, while a further nine are having their applications processed. Other efforts to reduce the environmental impact of fish farmed in the sea include trials with shellfish, says Nadir Uslu, Branch Coordinator Marine Culture. One company is growing mussels on lines placed between cages to see if they will mitigate the impact of the fish. Results from the trials are still awaited. Another effort is to move the cages within a site from one position to another after each production cycle to reduce the build-up of uneaten feed and faecal matter on the seabed.

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While production from marine farming exceeds that from freshwater, output of farmed rainbow trout is greater than that of any other individual species, marine or freshwater. Ozerdem Maltas, Branch Coordinator Inland Culture attributes this in part to the construction of dam reservoirs, which are primarily for the production of electricity, but are also used to farm trout. Today these reservoirs account for 60-65% of farmed trout production. Most of the remainder is farm
ed in flow-through systems using raceways that borrow water from a river. Trout farmed in open waters has a greater risk of contracting disease. To prevent outbreaks the administration has a vaccination and disease monitoring programme for the whole country. In general, disease is an issue in the trout sector, but not a significant one, according to Mr Maltas. Among the measures being used to reduce the incidence of disease is greater emphasis on fish welfare, for which new regulations are currently being formulated that will, for example, reduce the stocking density. The ministry is also interested in identifying new species for which there may be a market in Turkey or abroad, so as to diversify production and sturgeon and tilapia are two candidates for which production has been approved. Already, a few sturgeon farms are producing the fish for meat and for caviar. Production is still miniscule, only 28 tonnes in 2016, but is expected to grow.

Turkish aquaculture production by main species (tonnes)
YearsTroutSeabreamSeabassGrand total
InlandMarineTotal
201078,1657,07985,24428,15750,79678,953
2011100,2397,697107,93632,18747,01379,200
2012111,3353,234114,56930,74365,51296,255
2013122,8735,186128,05935,70167,913103,614
2014107,9835,610113,59341,87374,653116,526
2015101,1666,872108,03851,84475,164127,008

Decommissioning scheme reduces fishing vessel numbers by 5%

The Turkish fleet comprises 18,600 vessels (2015) of which 84% are marine and the rest inland. Over 94% of the total fleet consists of vessels under 18 m. According to the 2016 report by the GFCM Black Sea working group, about half the vessels are based in Black Sea ports with most large vessels operating in the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. A vessel decommissioning scheme in operation since 2012 has seen 364 vessels 12 m and above removed from the fleet in 2012, 456 vessels in 2013, and 191 vessels in 2014.

Capture fisheries production in Turkey is dominated by pelagic fish of which anchovies form the overwhelming majority at about 60% of the total catch of pelagics. Other important (in terms of volume) pelagic fish include sprat, pilchard, horse mackerel, and Atlantic bonito. In the six-year period to 2015 the trend in catches has been distinctly, though not consistently, falling. In terms of volumes most of the production comes from the Black Sea, thanks to the large catches of anchovies, but in terms of other species the Black Sea does not have as much to offer as the Aegean, the Mediterranean, or the Sea of Marmara. The trend in catches varies from species to species, sprat catches have been stable over the last few years, while anchovy catches have been fluctuating. This, says Mr Turkyilmaz, may have something to do with water temperature, which has an impact on anchovy. Professor Ertug Duzgunes from the Marine Science Faculty at the Black Sea Technical University in Trabzon, says that anchovy schools in water from 10 to 16 degrees, if it gets warmer the fish do not school, but remain scattered across the sea. School formation is important for catches as purse seines, the most common way of catching anchovy, can only target schools.

Hayri Deniz, General Secretary of the Turkish National Aquaculture Producers Union, and Mugla Fish Farmers Association

Lack of data make some assessments unreliable

A meeting of the GFCM subregional group on stock assessment in the Black Sea in January 2014 agreed that the assessment carried out on the Black Sea anchovy in 2013 was not reliable and suggested that current fishing mortality could b
e higher than precautionary fishing mortality. The group agreed that Information on other species including picked dogfish, rapa whelk, and bonito was not sufficient to make a full stock assessment. In Turkey bonito catches have varied massively over the six years to 2015 between 4,600 tonnes (2015) and 36,000 tonnes (2012). The resource when available is the preferred target of purse seiners and has a strong economic impact. However, more research is needed to understand links between Black Sea

Mediterranean populations, and between environmental parameters in the Black Sea and abundance.

Falling anchovy catches according to some are due to decreasing abundance which has led to the Turkish anchovy fishing season effectively being abbreviated from three months to 30 days over the last decade. The Turkish anchovy fishing effort is now mainly in Georgian waters where stocks are in better shape as they are not as heavily exploited. Companies in Georgia and Abkhazia use the fish from Turkish vessels to manufacture fishmeal and fish oil in facilities that are also sometimes Turkish-owned. The problem, says Prof. Duzgunes, is that landings in Abkhazia are not controlled for fish size, so that the catches have a large proportion of fish that would be considered undersized in Georgia or Turkey. At a meeting of the GFCM Black Sea working group in April 2016 it was recognised that current fishing mortality for Black Sea anchovy was slightly above the proposed reference point leading to a recommendation to reduce fishing mortality. While quotas are one way to restrict catches, for Turkey implementing this measure would be a costly exercise due to the large number of landing points and the short fishing season. An alternative indirect measure is to use the percentage of undersized individuals in the catch to control the harvest of young individuals, however, this would be difficult to implement in certain areas due to different growth rates as well as mixing with the Sea of Azov anchovy population. According to the working group a potential management plan for anchovy in the Black Sea should among others prevent overfishing, restore the stock to levels that allow the maximum sustainable yield, and limit the impact on the ecosystem by reducing bycatch of young individuals and other species. Turkey already has several measures in place regarding the management of anchovy in the Black sea including temporal and spatial restrictions, minimum landing size, however other measures such as minimum mesh sizes, limitations to gear, and the introduction of quotas will be expensive or difficult (or both) to implement.

Main pelagic species caught by the Turkish fleet (tonnes)
Year Anchovy Sprat Pilchard (sardine) Horse mackerel Atlantic bonito Blue fish
2010 229,023 57,023 27,639 20,447 9,401 4,744
2011 228,491 87,141 34,709 25,010 10,019 3,122
2012 163,982 12,092 28,248 30,946 35,764 7,390
2013 179,615 9,764 23,919 28,424 13,158 5,225
2014 96,440 41,648 18,077 16,324 19,032 8,386
2015 193,492 76,996 16,693 16,664 4,573 4,136
Main pelagic species caught by the Turkish fleet (tonnes)YearAnchovySpratPilchard (sardine)Horse mackerelAtlantic bonitoBlue fish2010229,02357,02327,63920,4479,4014,7442011228,49187,14134,70925,01010,0193,1222012163,98212,09228,24830,94635,7647,3902013179,6159,76423,91928,42413,1585,225201496,44041,64818,07716,32419,0328,3862015193,49276,99616,69316,6644,5734,136
Main pelagic species caught by the Turkish fleet (tonnes)
YearAnchovySpratPilchard (sardine)Horse mackerelAtlantic bonitoBlue fish
2010229,02357,02327,63920,4479,4014,744
2011228,49187,14134,70925,01010,0193,122
2012163,98212,09228,24830,94635,7647,390
2013179,6159,76423,91928,42413,1585,225
201496,44041,64818,07716,32419,0328,386
2015193,49276,99616,69316,6644,5734,136
Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock
Main demersal species caught by the Turkish fleet (tonnes)
Year Whiting European hake Surmullet Red mullet Turbot
2010 13,558 1,256 4,455 2,797 295
2011 9,455 921 3,877 2,289 166
2012 7,367 893 3,767 2,790 203
2013 9,397 676 2,333 2,144 209
2014 9,555 642 3,617 1,461 198
2015 13,158 706 3,476 1,281 239
Main demersal species caught by the Turkish fleet (tonnes)YearWhitingEuropean hakeSurmulletRed mulletTurbot201013,5581,2564,4552,79729520119,4559213,8772,28916620127,3678933,7672,79020320139,3976762,3332,14420920149,5556423,6171,461198201513,1587063,4761,281239
Main demersal species caught by the Turkish fleet (tonnes)
YearWhitingEuropean hakeSurmulletRed mulletTurbot
201013,5581,2564,4552,797295
20119,4559213,8772,289166
20127,3678933,7672,790203
20139,3976762,3332,144209
20149,5556423,6171,461198
201513,1587063,4761,281239

Measures to limit fishing for turbot

In terms of unit value, the most important Black Sea stock is turbot, catches of which in Turkey have generally hovered between 200 and 300 tonnes since 2010. Since 2001 Turkish catches of turbot have slumped by about 75%. This may be disease-related as Individual fish have been found infected with a virus, but more research is needed to bear this out. Turkey has implemented several measures to improve selectivity in the fishery and to decrease fishing mortality in younger individuals. The turbot stock has been classified as overfished by the Black Sea working group and a series of measures has been adopted by the GFCM to combat illegal fishing for turbot in the Black Sea. At the April meeting of the Black Sea working group in 2016, Turkey stated in connection with a proposed management plan for turbot in the Black Sea that to limit fishing mortality no new fishing licenses were being granted, drift nets and monofilament nets were prohibited, and Turkey was encouraging fishers to release undersized turbot back into the sea. The management plan seeks to reduce IUU fishing for turbot, bring fishing mortality to FMSY by 2020 and to restore the size of the turbot stock to where it can produce the maximum sustainable yield. Measures to achieve these goals include spatial restrictions where turbot gillnet fisheries and other fisheries where turbot is the bycatch will be restricted; temporal restrictions where the fishery will be closed in the spawning season (April to June); effort restrictions that will limit the overall capacity of the fleet and restrict the days or hours at sea. In addition, the plan envisages a minimum size for turbot, the introduction of special authorisations, and the use of the maximum dimensions of turbot gillnets, among other measures. In Turkey some of these measures, such as temporal restrictions, the need for authorisation (licenses), and restrictions on capacity are already in place.

Turkey fully supports collaborative efforts between riparian states to solve Black Sea issues

Among the issues that make fisheries management in the Black Sea a more difficult proposition than in other waters is that of the six riparian countries only three are members of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the regional fisheries management organisation. But as the main fishing country in the Black Sea, Turkey takes its responsibilities seriously, says Mr Turkyilmaz, pointing to closed seasons and areas, restrictions on fishing within certain depths and distances from the coastline by certain fleet segments, and other conservation measures, that are in force. He is also quite clear that successful management of stocks in the Black Sea can only come about in collaboration with the other riparian states. Decisions related to the Black Sea should be taken by all countries regardless of their status as members of the GFCM. Our main wish, he emphasises, is for activities to be coordinated between all the concerned countries as this will result in more effective management of Black Sea fisheries.

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