The tea houses in a fishing town in northern Istanbul were crowded with Turkish fishermen in the mornings in September, when they usually should have been busy on the sea as the fishing season just began. To the fishermen in Rumeli Kavagi at the northern mouth of Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait linking the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea, their disappointment resulted from the sharp decline in fish stocks. Fishing is the sole source of income for most residents in the town, which has been a major supplier of fish to Istanbul and other cities in the region. After five months of ban on fishing, fishermen in the town set sail again last week with high hopes. First they were cheerful when they caught some mackerel 40 years after this species almost disappeared from the Black and Marmara Seas, a sign they took as an abundance of others. Their happiness did not last long, however.
The abundance in mackerel in the first week ended quickly, and a kilo of mackerel now costs as much as 12 U.S. dollars, against expected dramatic drop in price in a fruitful season. The same was true for other species. For one, bonito, which has not appeared in plenty this year, sells for about 6 dollars each, up from 2 dollars last year. Now the fishermen prefer not to sail out but wait instead for more fish to enter the Marmara Sea.
Source: Xin Hua Net, 9 Sept 2017
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/09/c_136597104.htm
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