Authors : A. Cemal Dincer , Mustafa Zengyn and Ertug Duzgunes
Abstract: Majority of Turkish fishery catch is obtained by the Black Sea and main fishing method used is the purse seining. Recent statistics indicates that the Black Sea is subject the excessive fishing power by purse seiners. This study aims to search the possibilities and benefits of introducing midwater trawl and outlines the optimum fishing parameters such as distance of fishing ground, towing speed, fishing time, fishing depth, sea surface temperature and fishing period for the Turkish Black Sea`s small pelagic fishes namely anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus, sprat Sprattus sprattus, horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus and bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix. The study covers the fishing periods from 1998 to 2001 and was carried out in the area of southeastern Black Sea Coasts of Turkey. Four different types of trawl design were tested to collect data and the comparison of various fishing parameters between trawls and commercial purse seines was made by means of CPUE values. Catch efficiencies of single and pair vessel trawling were also investigated. The results show that midwater trawling can reasonable be the alternative method to harvest small pelagic species in the Black Sea. Midwater trawling therefore should be encouraged to reduce the detrimental effects of purse seiners (low selectivity and misusing) and to achieve sustainable fishing.
A. Cemal Dincer , Mustafa Zengyn and Ertug Duzgunes , 2007. A Preliminary Study on the Small Pelagic Fish Species Captured by Mid Water Trawls in the South-Eastern Black Sea Coasts of Turkey. Journal of Fisheries International, 2: 104-109.