Fishermen’s concern over ‘anchovy quota’: “It will compete with gold”

The President of the Samsun Fisheries Cooperatives Union, Atıf Malkoç, stated that the anchovy fishing quota that will be implemented starting this season will negatively affect fishermen and citizens, saying, “Anchovy will compete with gold.”

Anchovy fishing constitutes 65% of the fishing system in Turkey. Therefore, it is quite significant for the sector. However, both the quantity and size are decreasing day by day. This change also draws the attention of customers at the market. A quota has been imposed by the ministry on the amount of anchovy caught. Now, only 400 thousand tons of anchovy can be fished in Turkey’s territorial waters. With this decision, it is aimed to prevent unregistered fishing and to protect biodiversity. Fishermen claimed that due to the centimeter ban for years, anchovies that could not be fished in Turkey’s territorial waters were caught in other countries, and now the introduced quota limit has made the already declining anchovy fishing even more difficult.

“An additional quota has been added to the size limit.”

Atıf Malkoç, the President of the Fisheries Cooperatives Union, stated that he does not find the new quota added to the anchovy size limit, which is 9 cm in Turkey and 6 cm in other countries, appropriate. “Fishing looks good this season. There are plenty of bonito, horse mackerel, and bluefish. However, an unknown aspect related to anchovy has been presented to us. The anchovy fishing limit is at least 9 cm in our country, while it is 6 cm in other Black Sea countries. We have been monitoring and dealing with anchovy for years. Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Georgia catch anchovy. The countries I listed catch anchovy at 6 cm, while we have a limit of 9 cm. Now, an additional quota restriction has been added. They also have a quota, but they catch anchovy that we do not consider small. If we were to catch it in Turkey, we would give it to the industry. We do not catch it, but they catch it and give it to the industry,” he said.

“Anchovy will compete with gold prices from now on.”

President Atıf Malkoç emphasized that the decision would negatively reflect on anchovy prices, stating, “While the quota in other countries is 100 thousand tons, they are catching 250 thousand tons of anchovy. I do not know what they based the quota on in the Black Sea. They do not even know how much anchovy is left in the stocks. Additionally, anchovy migrates early from Turkey’s territorial waters. We have been warning about this for years. In the end, anchovy fishing has been terminated. From now on, people should not expect to eat cheap anchovy. Anchovy will compete with gold prices from now on. If a quota is applied to anchovy, it will cease to be a product that everyone can eat. Because very strict rules have been imposed. The most valuable sea in the world is the Black Sea, and the most valuable anchovy is in the Black Sea. They have imposed a quota on anchovy, which has no competition in the world. This year, we will wait and see the situation of anchovy in fishing,” he said.

“It would be better if we caught nothing.”

Malkoç pointed out that the quota has also become one of the fishermen’s problems, saying:
“It is recorded that 300 thousand tons are caught in the Black Sea during the season, but most of it was not recorded. Fishermen would not record half of the anchovy caught. Now, thanks to the inspections, even 1 kilo of anchovy caught must be recorded. There are strict inspections. If you come to the port at 03:00-04:00 at night, an officer from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry comes and has to record the fish while taking it out. There are many rural areas in the Black Sea. How will officers come and process at midnight? In some areas, there is not even infrastructure or roads for the ports. We have entered such an unknown; we will see the results. We have no hope. The anchovy quota will be a significant problem for fishing. At least we have no hope for the future of anchovy. Fishermen are also worried about the application of quotas to other fish species in the coming years. I think this is a trap set by Europe for Turkey. A significant obstacle has been placed in front of us to impose this on Turkey. It has become a festival for other countries in the Black Sea. I do not think the price per kilo of anchovy will drop below 200 TL in Turkey this year. According to the latest published quota general directive, it seems to me that it would be better if we caught no anchovy at all.