Contents (continued) 



Page 



Fish Landings la 



Exports 22 



Fishing Vessels 22 



Employment 22 



Cold Storage 23 



Canneries 23 



Summary of Principal Laws and Regulations 



Pertaining to Fishing 28 



Some Observations on Turkish Fishing and 

 Suggestions for Developing the 



Turkish Fishing Industry 29 



Introduction 



The coastal area of the Istanbul region is a very rich fishing 

 ground, the most important in Turkey, although fish are caught all along 

 the long Turkish coastline (Figure 1). This region owes its great abun- 

 dance of fish to the seasonal migration of certain speoies of fish which 

 pass through the Bosphorus on their way to spawn in the Black Sea in the 

 spring and their later return to the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas in the 

 autumn with the approach of cold weather. This passage of fish through 

 the straits at regular intervals has, since time immemorial, made it 

 possible to obtain an abundance of fish without much effort. The general 

 direction followed by migratory fish in the spring is from the Aegean and 

 Marmara Seas through the Bosphorus towards the northeast coast of the 

 Black Sea. 



The Turkish fishing industry, which is centered in the Sea of 

 Marmara and the Bosphorus, is but the continuation of fishing as practiced 

 by the Greeks in this region as well as in the Golden Horn in ancient 

 times. It is known that the Byzantines fished the bluefin tuna at the 

 entrance of the Bosphorus. The importance given to this species is illus- 

 trated by the fact that on certain Byzantine coins there is found a design 

 of the bluefin tuna. 



With the passing of time, a certain amount of evolution naturally 

 has ocourred in the type of fishing equipment employed. However, basically, 

 changes have been slight. With regard to the evolution in fishing equip- 

 ment, it is only during the last two centuries that changes have occurred, 

 and this again, only with regard to fishing in the region of Istanbul. 



In the coastal regions located far from Istanbul fishing in 

 general is practiced on a small scale for the purpose of meeting local 

 requirements, except for certain species of fish which at certain seasons 

 can be salted or dried in the vicinity of the fishing grounds. 



The slogan of Turkish fishermen until recently was "Fish, but 

 do not lose sight of the minarets of Istanbul". This slogan, which 



