Climate change hit anchovy: ‘We can’t catch it’
Ramazan Özkaya, Chairman of the Central Union of Fisheries Cooperatives, stated that climate change has a negative impact on fishing in the Black Sea and said, “Due to the high water temperature in the Black Sea, our fishermen have difficulty in hunting, especially they cannot catch anchovies.”
Özkaya reminded that the fishing season in the seas started as of September 1, and said that the fishermen were working hard.
Pointing out that the fishing industry has also been affected by the climate change felt all over the world in recent years, Özkaya said, “The sea water temperature in the Black Sea is around 19 degrees. This is not very suitable for fishing. When the water is hot, fish do not gather together. Due to the high temperature in the Black Sea, our fishermen do not hunt.” “He has a hard time making it, especially he can’t catch anchovies. That’s why we can’t see anchovies on the stalls much this year,” he said.
“WE EXPECT ANCHOICE PRICES TO FALL”
Stating that anchovy is abundant this year, Özkaya said, “We expect the sea water temperature in the Black Sea to drop to 15 degrees as of the middle of next month. In other words, with the drop in temperature in the Black Sea around December 15, anchovy will cheer up our stalls. Accordingly, we expect anchovy prices to drop.”
Stating that the priority of fishermen should be sustainability in the seas, Özkaya said, “The seas are our common asset. We need to leave them to future generations. Our fishermen should fish in accordance with the determined rules, and citizens should be sensitive about this issue.”
