In 1950, the total amount of fish caught in the world was 20 million tonnes, whilst today, with the aid of technology, it has risen to over 145 million tonnes. The European Union has stated that 88% of Europe’s fish stocks have been subject to overfishing, and the number of fish species, as well as their sizes and populations, has decreased considerably.
Overfishing has eliminated 65% of fish stocks, whilst large scale fishing and coastal pollution due to factors such as urban buildup has lead to a 50% decrease in the area covered by seagrass. Large-scale fishing nets that are dragged across the seabed for many kilometers catch not only target species but also many endangered non-target species such as the dusky grouper.
Fishing nets become heavier underwater and harm marine habitats and the seabed. This leads to habitats losing their ability to store carbon, and for the previously stored carbon to break apart and turn into carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide which dissolves into the air contributes to global warming, and carbon dioxide that remains in the seawater increases its acidity and affects marine life adversely. Increased acidity also causes the amount of carbon dioxide kept on the sea surface to decrease. Depending on the marine habitat and the large-scale fishing equipment used, the recovery of the seabed can take between 1.9 and 6.4 years. Scientific studies have shown that No Fishing Zones are an effective method of circumventing these problems, leading to an estimated six fold increase in fish biomass within a decade and increasing the income of those who make a living by fishing.
Marine habitats are subjected more and more damage each day, coupled with overfishing, this has created a huge crisis for Mediterranean fishing, particularly for small-scale fishers. *There are decreasing numbers of small scale fishers who use traditional shore fishing methods in Turkey. The primary reasons for this is decreasing biodiversity, increased cost of fishing equipment, and young people not regarding fishing as a reliable source of income. For this reason, the median age of traditional fishers is constantly increasing.
The MCS regards marine conservation activities and the protection of species and habitats as its main priorities while supporting the continuation of small scale shore fishing is a secondary benefit of these efforts. The MCS works to provide fishery cooperatives with the knowledge and equipment they require to practice sustainable fishing, and cooperates with fishery cooperatives and the Department of Fishery and Aquaculture at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on various issues such as the monitoring of species and obtaining daily fishing data to track the efficacy of the Marine Ranger System.
