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Bonito is expected to be abundant in the seas this year…
Ramazan Özkaya, Chairman of the Central Union of Fisheries Cooperatives, stated that the fishermen are ready for the new season and said, “This year there will be plenty of bonito, the Turkish people will be full up with bonitos. On the other hand it seems that anchovy will be less than last season.”
Ramazan Özkaya, Chairman of the Central Union of Fisheries Cooperatives, made an assessment regarding the fishing season that will start in the seas as of September 1.
Emphasizing that the fishermen did not experience much loss last year, Özkaya said that the small fishermen who cannot sell fish faced some difficulties due to the closed restaurants.
Özkaya pointed out that the fishermen have completed their preparations for the new season with their work since April 15 and made the following assessment:
“Our fishermen are ready for the new season. This year, there will be plenty of bonitos, the Turkish people will be full of bonito. According to the information from the fishermen, there is a little difficulty in the growth of the bonito, which scares us.”
Özkaya noted that approximately 460 thousand tons of fish were caught last season and approximately 1 billion dollars of fishery products were exported during the same period.
Indicating that the exports of fisheries will increase this year, Özkaya also underlined, “Meanwhile the target of 2 billion dollars in 2023 can be achieved with increasing fish farming.”
“Our consumers should not buy the fish captured during the banned period”
Özkaya warned that the fishermen should be hunted in accordance with the protected areas and explained:
“These seas belong to all of us. Our fishermen should not damage the stocks. New protection areas have been declared this year. Besides our consumers should not buy fish that are caught during the ban period and not obeyed the prohibition of size. What we ask from the fishermen should follow the rules in the communiqués.”
Özkaya added that the ban on hunting in the Mediterranean will end on 15 September.
