Day in the challenging life of a Turkish fisher

  MERSIN, Turkey -- It’s a winter afternoon at the shore where local fishermen are mending their nets and getting ready for a new expedition. They fire up the engine, let the ropes go from the quay. As we pass the pier head Turkish fisherman Erol stows the ropes, check the gear one last time, we slip into the the world of sea to get a good catch. Burhan Kutlu, a Turkish businessman and famous jeweler in Mersin helps us to reach this local fisherman, Erol Şarman, a childhood friend.

 What are the daily challenges that local fishermen face in this port city in southern Turkey on the Mediterranean? EŞarman, 60, tells the Italian Insider, and  Aleksandr Khripushin, about a typical day for him in Mersin.

 "I've been engaged in amateur fishing since I was 8. I started fishing professionally 20 years ago," he says. "My family originates from Syria and they had trading merchant ships for many generations."

 Turkish fisherman gets up at five, take those fishing worms to catch fish and go fishing if the sea seems nice. "The sea is a big passion for me, it is great place to relax if you're in it, and next to it." 

 As the president of the Amateur Fishermen's Association in Mersin, Erol and the crew aim to reduce marine litter involving the fishing industry. "We are not hopeful that the next year is going to be better and there will be more fish in the sea. Some of the biggest challenges of this situation include unpleasant environmental conditions and poaching," said Şarman.

 Fishing plays an important role in the economic and social life for the inhabitants along the coast of the city. The city is one of the most developed commercial and industrial port cities of Turkey with its Mersin International Port and Mersin Free Trade Zone which is the second largest free trade zones in Turkey. Fishermen catch hunting sardines, bream, bass, haddock, and the striped red mullet that are one of the most common fish species found in the Mediterranean Sea.

 THE AMATEUR FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION IN MERSIN CITY

 The Amateur Fishermen’s Association in Mersin was founded in 1984. Their goal is to ensure the voices of amateur fishermen are heard and not ignored. "Today, our organisation has around 1,300 members and 300 vessels representing amateur fishing on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey," Erol Şarman highlights.

 "Although Turkey is surrounded by sea on three sides, the Mediterranean in the south, the Aegean in the west, and the Black Sea in the north, we import fish from countries such as Norway and Finland. This is disappointing," he says.

 He explains the reasons behind the decreasing number of fish. "This stems from factory waste in the sea, fish kills that are most frequently caused by pollution from agricultural runoff,  Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing are other reasons behind this situation."

 Amateur Fishermen's Association covers environmental awareness, crew competence and vessel standards. They inform the municipality and officials regarding marine litter that is caught in their fishing gear instead of throwing it back into the sea. Besides, they report to the coast guard in order to prevent poaching.

 "There's one incident that I still remember a long time ago:"A storm like no other enclosed this port," Erol said.  Most boaters were struggling against that powerful storm or they were in port, but the storm did not just roll by. That storm had taken the lives of his fellow friends.

 A storm of such magnitude, having rested and promised to be the fight of Erol's life. He became one of the few survivors and he managed to stay routed to the spot in his own words, “I was here in the sea, while the storm was raging; therefore I shall die by the storm.”

 But Erol said the strength of the storm reminds the fisherman of another incident. He had spotted what appeared to be a dead body of a human being on rocks near the sea a long time ago. He said he still feels sorry as he did not inform emergency services including the Coast Guard at that time. 

 jp-dk

 

 © COPYRIGHT ITALIAN INSIDER
UNAUTHORISED REPRODUCTION FORBIDDEN