With the end of the fishing ban on September 1, fishermen in Turkey will sail for the new season. However, in Turkey, which is rich in fish species, reasons such as climate change in recent years, increasing water temperature on the sea surface, excessive and wrong fishing can make the fish too expensive to eat anymore.
Zafer Kızılkaya, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mediterranean Conservation Society, made evaluations from Elips Haber to Halide Tonga about the possible situations awaiting the fishing season in the new period, the impact of climate change on sea creatures and the fish prices that will be reflected on the stalls. Stating that the warming of the waters towards the depth every year creates a thermal stress on the fish, Kızılkaya said, “Since some fish do not like cold water, they flee from the hot water points in the summer towards the Western Mediterranean or towards the Northern Aegean. "If we look at biodiversity, there's a lot of new invasive species coming in and there's a reduction in native species," he said.
Stating that the spawning periods of many fish change according to which period of the month the water temperatures coincide, Kızılkaya reminded that the hunting season was stopped in the Black Sea last year due to the water temperatures. Kızılkaya said, “Considering the water temperature, especially in the Black Sea region, where 70 percent of anchovy comes from, even the slightest reproduction of anchovy will affect 70 percent of the fish in Turkey. The surface temperature of the Black Sea is currently high. I think the problem that was experienced last year will be experienced this year as well," he said.
Expressing that fish prices have risen excessively, Kızılkaya said, “Now it is a problem for normal people to reach fish. "In the next 10 years, fish will definitely cease to be a food that normal people can afford," he said.
