As mentioned above, according to existing legislation all fish 

 caught must be sold by auction at the fish exchanges attached to the 

 Ministry of Commerce. Retailers, processors, restaurants, exporters, 

 etc. purchase their supply of fish at these fish exchanges; consequently, 

 there are no wholesalers of fish distinct from fishermen. The number of 

 retail shops selling fish is placed at about 400 for the whole Turkish 

 territory. However, in addition to these retail outlets there exist a 

 great number of street vendors, among whom are found fishermen who spend 

 their spare time selling fish. It should be mentioned that a very large 

 catch of fish tend6 automatically to increase the number of fish vendors 

 of this type, usually small fishermen, who avoid the paying of the fixed 

 exchange fees by disposing of their catch by selling it from door to door 

 secretly. It is estimated that from 20 percent to 50 percent of the fish 

 catch other than pelamid, bonito, and tuna is sold in prohibited traffic, 

 i. e. without passing through the fish exchanges. Such contraband sales 

 are most active during the summer season and relatively inactive during 

 the wiater. 



Amateur fishing for fish, lobsters and other mollueks accounts 

 for a fairly large quantity in the Istanbul area. 



Cold Storage 



Cold storage space which is either being used or might eventually 

 be used for fish is estimated at 40,000 cubic meters, but part of this 

 space is required and used for the storage of various foodstuffs. 



Canneries 



Existing food canneries, 7 in number, all located in the Istanbul 

 region, have a combined estimated production capacity of 12,500 kilograms 

 per day on a one 8-hour shift basis. These canneries are not in a position 

 to devote their entire production oapacity to the canning of fish, inasmuch 

 as they meet domestic requirements in various canned foods other than fish. 



Summary of Principal Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Fishing 



All fishermen are required to obtain a fisherman's permit from 

 the provincial authorities at an annual fee of T. L. 1.00 (U. S. $0.35/). 



All fish oaught for commercial purposes is subject to a 12 

 percent tax levied on the wholesale price obtained by auction under the 

 supervision of officials of the Ministry of National Economy. In large 

 cities the Ministry h>s organized fish exchanges (balikhane) while in less 

 densely populated areas government inspectors control the collection of 

 this tax. 



In the case of fishing concessions obtained from the government 

 on a rent basis pertaining to lakes the tax is considered to have been 

 prepaid with the rent and the 12 percent tax is consequently not paid. 

 Fishing in lakes constituting private property is subject to the 12 percent 

 tax. Fishing ground concessions which remain unused for a period of three 



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