3. RECOMMENDATIONS

If the Government wishes to tackle realistically the fisheries problem in Turkey, and, by so doing, realize the economic development potential in this sector, then a greater effort and sense of urgency requires to be placed in mobilizing and utilizing the man-power, finance, physical facilities and equipment necessary to make a significant headway into the total problem.

3.1 FISHERIES ADMINISTRATION

It is recommended that:

The General Directorate of Water Products, Regional Fisheries Directorates and Fisheries Directorates of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Animal Production be organized, staffed in a multidisciplinary manner (the present practice of employing mainly agricultural engineers should be discontinued), equipped, and put on an operational basis;

The fellowships training programme proposed should be implemented as a matter of urgency, and the recipients of fellowships should be required on their return to Turkey to organize training courses for other staff members to obtain a multiplier effect from this programme;

The training of fisheries inspectors and extension workers should be initiated, using expanded facilities at the Boykoz Fisheries School under cooperative arrangements between the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Animal Production, and the Ministry of Education;

Consideration should be given to the establishment of a Department of Fisheries in at least one of the Universities with assistance from international sources;

A General Directorate of Fish Marketing should be established in the Ministry of Commerce;

The Fisheries Department of the State Hydraulics Works should be strengthened in terms of personnel, physical facilities and equipment;

The Fisheries Section of the Ministry of Forests should be upgraded and strengthened in terms of personnel, physical facilities and equipment;

The activities of the fisheries sector should be guided by a National Council for Research and Development composed of representatives from both governmental and nongovernmental agencies and the private sector to ensure that they are in conformity with the aims and policy of the Government;

Any future international technical assistance should include a strong institutional building component.

3.2 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ORIGINATING FROM THE MARINE FISHERY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (TUR/70/540)

For the Government to implement the many wide-ranging recommendations emanating from this project requires that a considerable amount of professional expertise, physical facilities, equipment, vessels and finance be made available.

It is expected that these elements will eventually be provided via the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Animal Production and the Ministry of Commerce in cooperation with other governmental and nongovernmental agencies as they develop. The necessary basic measures to achieve the capability to implement the recommendations of this project are given in Sections 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.5, 3.1 and 3.4 of this report.

3.3 INLAND FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE

The research and development effort in the inland fisheries sector is still very limited, and lacks coordination. There are still large information gaps in the knowledge of the inland fisheries sector.

The overall aim of inland fisheries development should be to increase the present production by 200–300 percent.

To realize the economic development potential in the inland fisheries sector, a comprehensive programme for lake, dam, reservoir and river development should be implemented. Comprehensive work programmes, involving the cooperation of various agencies, require to be formulated for the development and management of the inland fisheries in the major water bodies throughout Turkey, and such programmes would involve exploratory and experimental fishing, naval architecture and boat building, gear and methods studies, biological investigations, limnology, marketing and processing technology economics and statistics, and institution building.

It is recommended that:

A detailed inventory should be made of the inland water bodies and sufficient information collected to estimate the potential fish production in each so that an integrated programme of development may be formulated;

The fisheries biological and stock evaluation work be concentrated on the principal commercial species and extended, where necessary, to provide an understanding of the overall ecological relationships affecting the fish production;

Special investigations, probably under arrangements with the universities, be carried out in parts of river systems where changes will be made in the environment as a result of hydroelectric developments;

Gear and methods studies be oriented towards the development of new gear and improvement of existing gears to adapt them better to the actual conditions of the fisheries;

Design studies be made to produce boats suitable for the inland fisheries, and based on the results of this work a boat building programme could be developed;

Studies be made on the requirements of the physical infrastructure for fishery development at the water bodies such as piers, jetties, cold stores, ice plants, marketing and boat repair facilities;

Research and development work on handling, processing, marketing and transport methods be carried out to improve the quality and expand the supply of fish.

In particular it is recommended that:

A development programme be formulated to realize the fisheries potential of the Keban Dam complex.

In the field of aquaculture it is recommended that:

The experimental work on fish culture already initiated on the state farms, and at other sites, be intensified, and coordinated by the General Directorate of Water Products;

A detailed programme of work to investigate the pond biology of the species at the experimental ponds now in existence, be developed. This work should include a study of age, growth, reproduction, feeding requirements, optimum stock densities, the possibilities for mixed species culture, fertilization requirements, the possibility of induced or natural spawning under farm conditions, and the conditions and feed required for successful rearing;

Detailed techno-economic analyses of the experimental work being conducted at present on aquaculture be made to determine the relationships between expected and observed yields, and national and international comparisons be made of the economics and marketing of these operations;

A comprehensive survey be made to locate sites suitable for trout, carp, eel, crayfish, mullet, pike perch, shrimp, catfish and tilapia culture, and experimental and pilot-scale operations be introduced as appropriate. The evaluation of sites suitable for such aquaculture development should also include local economic factors as well as biological and ecological considerations;

Work on the design and construction of brackish water fish ponds should be initiated;

Experimental work be done on cage culture of fish in lakes, reservoirs and other impoundments;

Measures be taken to rehabilitate the sturgeon fishery;

Demonstration and training centres be set up and linked to the proposed extension services of the Regional Fisheries Directorates and Fisheries Directorates of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Animal Production;

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Animal Production should establish its own hatcheries to ensure an adequate supply in the future of stocking material to farmers;

The formation and operation of inland fisheries and aquaculture cooperatives be promoted;

Work on fish feed should be initiated and oriented towards the utilization of locally available materials for fish feed. Fish feed formulae should be devised, a fish feed service established as part of the extension service, and the manufacture of these feeds organized;

A fish diseases unit be established as a matter of urgency. The occurrence and treatment of fish diseases in those species used for aquaculture should be studied, a list of the principal diseases made, and a pamphlet prepared showing how these diseases amenable to simple diagnosis may be recognized;

A cooperative programme with other agencies to determine the effects of pesticides, herbicides and other pollutants in use in Turkey and which are likely to affect aquaculture operations be begun to evolve procedures for the protection of fish pond areas and fry collection centres from the effects of pollution;

A central registry be established in the General Directorate of Water Products recording all fish introductions into water bodies;

The General Directorate of Water Products, apart from its own technical work programme, should collaborate with other agencies, both governmental and nongovernmental, to promote and coordinate work on fish genetics, fish feeds, fish diseases, the improvement and development of new culture techniques, the economics of aquaculture, and to promote the exchange of information and data.

Implementation of the recommendations both in inland fisheries and aquaculture requires considerable further provision of professional staff, physical facilities, field and laboratory equipment, boats and fishing gear in the various agencies involved.

These development programmes both in inland fisheries and aquaculture would best be accomplished with international technical assistance in the form of expertise, equipment and advanced training abroad for national personnel.

3.4 FISH MARKETING

The marketing studies already made have demonstrated that the serious deficiencies of the marketing system can be remedied only by the construction of a modern marketing network.

It is recommended that:

The Ministry of Commerce should establish a General Directorate of Fish Marketing and that this organization should incorporate the existing fish marketing facilities of the Meat and Fish Office. It should comprise two divisions: a Division for National Markets and a Division for Export Markets;

A multidisciplinary working group, including representatives from the private sector, be established to develop further and bring to the implementation stage the preliminary projects already prepared for a fish marketing and distribution system; it is considered that for such a working group to complete successfully its mandate, international technical assistance will be required;

A closer control of purchase and sale prices be established by means of purchase, transport and sales documents;

An analysis be made to determine whether certain species are supplied by certain wholesalers or groups of wholesalers and whether only a few control the larger part of the total supply;

An overall market information system be established which would cover all the principal landing places and consumer centres. These data should be processed and presented at short regular intervals in a market report;

Surveys be carried out on the level and pattern of fish consumers' buying habits and attitudes in Ankara and in other inland cities and in rural areas to provide the basic information necessary for formulating fish promotion and consumer education programmes;

The participation in retailing of the Meat and Fish Office be effected only by the use of the most modern facilities available to the fish retail trade so that they also fulfil the promotional objective of raising the general level of fish retailing by example;

There should be more retail outlets provided by the Meat and Fish Office, especially in low-income areas;

Quality control and fish inspection units should be set up for fish and fish products and technical assistance should be given to industrial enterprises so that they may comply with the quality standards. Laboratories to be used for introducing actual inspection and control work and training of personnel could be located at the Regional Fisheries Directorates of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Animal Production;

A publication in popular language on the problems of fish spoilage and how fresh fish should be handled at various stages, be prepared and given a wide distribution;

The general export market potentials be further studied and a system for providing European market information to exporters be developed.

The main components of priority follow-up action are a realistic development of the General Directorate of Water Products of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Animal Production, and the establishment and placing on an operational basis of a General Directorate of Fish Marketing in the Ministry of Commerce.

Subsequently, this would be followed by the formulation and execution of specific development actions in the form of programmes and projects in accordance with the guidelines given in the Third Five-Year Plan.

Large-scale international technical assistance from all sources in fisheries is required in accordance with the fields given in Tables 2 and 3. It should be noted that the percentage of the indicative planning figure assigned to the fisheries section in the 1973 and 1974 period of the Country Programme was 0.36 percent. If the objectives for fisheries development are to be achieved then a higher percentage of the indicative planning figure will eventually have to be allocated to assist with the provision of the expertise and fellowships training required to meet the needs of the fisheries sector.

Table 1

ESTIMATED FELLOWSHIPS REQUIREMENTS OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD

Table 2

ESTIMATED REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL PERSONNEL SERVICES OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD