Evaluation of Small Scale Fisheries in Princes' Islands, Istanbul

Abstract

This study was conducted in Princes' Islands' in the Sea of Marmara, Istanbul and small scale fisheries structure was determined separately in two fisheries season between November 2006-March 2007 and September 2014-May 2015. This point of view, fishing gears which are widely used in the region, fishing activities, small-scale fishing boats, catch composition, target and by catch species ratios were examined. The study were conducted by surveying in the fishing port and interviewing with the fishermen face to face and using of various types of trammel, gill net with different mesh sizes (10, 18, 23, 32, 100, 110 mm) and long line were determined in the area. During the study, 15783 kg (82.73 % target and 17.27 % bycatch in weight) and 12660 kg (90.05 % target and 9.95 % bycatch in weight) fish were caught in 2006-2007 and 2014-2015 season, respectively. Additionally, this study also revealed that the boat length varied from 5.5 to 9.9 m and the engine power ranged from 6-140 hp depending on the fishery season. The obtained data from this study was evaluated by a 9-year historical data to provide the opportunity to reflect the data about the possible changes in small-scale fisheries.