Turkey

In the world’s most overfished sea — the Mediterranean — Turkey is a leader in marine conservation. In 2020, it designated 500 km of its rich coastline south of Bodrum to be marine protected areas (MPAs), and created the Mediterranean’s largest highly protected marine reserve. But the resources and expertise required to enforce protection are often lacking, which leaves the country’s waters vulnerable to overfishing, overdevelopment, invasive species, and tourism.  

Blue Marine has lent its support with a management plan to make the government’s MPA designations more effective, working closely with local Turkish conservationists, the AKD. The plan links a network of six MPA sites and fishing communities, running east from Gӧkova Bay, the only MPA in the Mediterranean with its own shark populations (sandbar sharks). Artisanal fishers here are already being actively engaged in the management of their fishing grounds. The fishery at Gӧkova Bay is unusual in being run almost exclusively by women.  

Turkey also has a serious problem with invasive species — non-native marine animals that come up from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. The most prevalent are lionfish, rabbitfish and pufferfish. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing makes life easier for the invasives, as many larger predators such as tuna, which would otherwise be eating them, are themselves being overfished. Regular sorties by Blue Marine’s patrol boat identify and record incidences of IUU fishing, and report their findings to the coastguard.  

To improve the efficiency of conservation efforts, members of AKD and marine rangers have taken part in training programmes, and AKD held a workshop in Gӧkova Bay where experiences and knowledge were shared to encourage fishers to collaborate on vital data sharing, as well as to oppose illegal fishing. 

To promote the benefits of putting conservation at the heart of political and social strategies, Blue Marine has also made a documentary about Turkey’s unique marine ecosystem and the local communities working hard to conserve it.  

In 2023, we designated an Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) to protect a rare population of sandbar sharks, created a market for invasive lionfish, restored monk seal caves, deployed thousands of patrols to enforce regulations, and continually monitor ecological and socio-economic recovery.  

Within the MPAs, results showed five times more fish, increased numbers of apex predators, higher resilience to climate change, and invasive species, and an increase in income of more than 500 per cent in the female-led artisanal fisheries.