An investigation on bottom trawl fishery in the Middle Black Sea

Abstract

The study was carried out between September 2016 and April 2017 to determine the location, current status and applications of the catching of the bottom trawl fishing in the Black Sea Region. Bottom trawl is a fishing gear used extensively to catch the demersal fishes as economical and rational. Considering the field where fishing activities held by bottom trawl in Turkey, since the Eastern Black Sea has fractured composition the bottom trawling is not applicable. Due to the shallow and flat structure of the Central Black Sea, the areas from west of Sinop to Ordu are suitable for bottom trawl fishing. Bottom trawling areas in the West Black Sea are not as wide as the Middle Black Sea but they are located between Igneada and Kefken. In this study, the length of whiting fishes, which is the most caught species by bottom trawlers, rages from 7 cm to 30 cm and an average length is detected as 15 +/- 0.13 cm.