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Safeguarding the seas

Türkiye enhancing fishing monitoring for sustainable fisheries

By IW:LEARN

"Türkiye has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to sustainable fisheries, recognizing the importance of responsible stewardship in ensuring the health and viability of marine ecosystems. In line with this commitment, Türkiye has taken monitoring, control and surveillance measures to higher levels [than ever before],”

explains Erdinç Güneş, senior fisheries expert, General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Türkiye.

Türkiye, an active beneficiary country of the GEF-funded projects “Fisheries and ecosystem-based management for the blue economy of the Mediterranean” (FishEBM MED) and “Fisheries and ecosystem-based management for the Black Sea” (FishEBM BS), has a longstanding history of promoting sustainable fisheries management in its waters, including through efforts to ensure compliance with fisheries management measures in place. Indeed, the country's commitment to sustainable fisheries management in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea goes beyond compliance with recommendations from the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and includes promoting sustainable practices that benefit the entire region.

Following the FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, Türkiye strives for ecological, economic and social sustainability, to address several challenges, such as the impacts of climate change and the rising presence of non-indigenous species in the region.

The country’s robust legal framework ensures that any decisions made by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) and other relevant bodies are enacted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Türkiye’s commitment is highlighted by the successful translation of GFCM recommendations into national laws, which earned the country a GFCM Compliance Award in November 2023 for its compliance with GFCM regulations and data submission requirements.

Photo:Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

The country's fisheries management approach extends to enhancing capacity to manage and monitor its fisheries. The goal is to track every fish product along the entire supply chain, from net to plate. This has been made possible thanks to the new Fisheries Law adopted on 1 January 2020, which introduced rigorous checks at every stage – at sea, at landing points, during transport, at processing plants, and in retail markets – to ensure that each fish is caught legally and that at no point illegal procedures can enter the supply chain.

Despite efforts to combat it, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing remains a problem for all countries. Perpetrators continually develop new methods to evade existing controls, requiring ongoing adaptation in detection and enforcement strategies. Emerging technologies can help address the issue. In this context, drones, alongside Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and fisheries control vessels, are also deployed during inspections to detect illegal gear and fishing activities in prohibited areas in Türkiye. In addition, all fishing gears in its waters were marked for traceability, to avoid losing or discarding as much as possible. These tools demand substantial financial and human resources, however, including the need to renew existing equipment. Regular updates and training are also essential to maintain their effectiveness.

In this regard, the FishEBM MED and BS projects are instrumental and effective tools in enhancing existing capacities for monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) in Türkiye. In particular, the projects are working closely with Türkiye to modernize the Turkish fleet's VMS technology and pilot select technologies to support Fisheries Monitoring Centres (FMCs) in valorizing fisheries information and control data to identify potential non-compliance.

Detection, however, is only half the battle. Enforcement is equally critical. A participatory approach to monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) in the fight against IUU fishing can accelerate both understanding and acceptance of fisheries policies. In the Gökova Bay Marine Protected Area (MPA), participatory monitoring by the local cooperatives started in 2015, and seven no-fishing zones have since been declared following consultations with cooperatives and fishers.

Indeed, involving fishers, scientists, and local communities in management and monitoring increases compliance and improves outcomes. Local knowledge and experience are invaluable for planning and detecting illegal activities. Fishers themselves are on the water more and have more experience and knowledge on many aspects of the fishery than anybody else, and they should be counted on to detect, report and deter illegal activities.

It is expected that by working with Türkiye in the context of the FishEBM MED and BS projects, the projects will gain important insight and experiences, owing to the diversity of the Turkish fleet and the different marine contexts in which it operates (from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea). The knowledge gained in the context of the projects is foreseen to be transferable to other countries in the region that wish to follow in Türkiye’s footsteps.

About the project

The “Fisheries and ecosystem-based management for the Black Sea” project (FishEBM BS) aims to reverse the overexploitation of select commercial living marine resources by enhancing the capacity of Black Sea countries to manage fisheries through the application of ecosystem-based management tools.

The FishEBM BS project is committed to strengthening Black Sea fisheries productivity while ensuring their sustainability. The project encourages a shift toward a more participatory approach to fisheries and a change in thinking in policy and management by both government agencies and stakeholder groups.

For more information about the FishEBM BS project, please contact Anna Carlson (Anna.Carlson@fao.org) or visit the project page on iwlearn.net.

Footnotes

Words by Anna Carlson. Photo Cover: Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Photo Fishers: Hulki Okan Tabak/Unsplash.

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FootNotes

Words by Anna Carlson. Photo Cover: Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Photo Fishers: Hulki Okan Tabak/Unsplash.