The Behaviour of Turkish Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) Fishing Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea

The main purpose of this study is to contribute to Turkish tuna fishing fleet management. In this context; The Turkish Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus Linnaeus, 1785) fishing fleet in our territorial waters and international waters in the Eastern Mediterranean were monitored on a spatio-temporal basis and a continuous monitoring model for BFT stock was established. Archival data sets of Bluefin Tuna (BFT) 2010-2016 spatial-temporal migration and remote sensing data sets of traces of fishing vessels and environmental factors (SST and Chl-a) were included in the model. Statistical analysis of the model was performed using Geographical Information System (GIS) based-approach and the results were presented on thematic maps. On the other hand, the importance of the announcement of The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for BFT fishing in Eastern Mediterranean was addressed in the study. Accordingly, the possibility of 'Turkey's Exclusive Economic Zone' announcement in Mediterranean Sea and its borders were discussed.

Keywords:

Bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, fishing fleet behaviour, EEZ GIS,

PDF

___

Block B.A. & Stevens, E.D. (2001). Tuna: Physiology, Ecology and Evolution, p. 79-120. In: B.A. Block and E. D. Stevens (eds.), Fish Physiology, Vol. 19 San Diego: Academic Press.
Block, B.A., Dewar, H., Blackwell, S.B., Williams, T.D., Prince, E.D., Farwell, C.J., Boustany, A., Teo, S.L.H., Seitz, A., Walli, A. & de Buen F.D. (2001). Migratory movements, depth preferences, and thermal biology of Atlantic blueﬁn tuna. Science, 293: 1310– 1314.
Ceyhun, G.Ç. & Oral, E.Z. (2011). Türkiye’nin Deniz Alanlarındaki Sınır Anlaşmaları ve Güncel Durumu. E. Başar (ed.), Uluslararası Deniz Hukuku’nda Kıyı Devletinin Gemilere El Koyma Yetkisinin Sınırları Sempozyumu 24-25 March 2011, Trabzon.
Cin, T. (2006). Devletlerarası Hukukta Balıkçılık, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 8(1): 21-45.
Damalas, D. & Megalofonou, P. (2012). Discovering where bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, might go: using environmental and fishery data to map potential tuna habitat in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Scientia Marina, 76(4): 691-704.
D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson M.A. (translator). 1910. ARISTOTLE. The History of Animals (Historia Animalium). C.B. 12 v. illus. (1. 4) diagrs. (v. 5-6) 23 cm. Clarendon Press Oxford. Available from: http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ AriHian.html
Desse J. & Desse-Berset N. (1994). Strategies de peche au 8ème millenaire: les poisons de Cap Andreas Kastros (Chypre). In: A. Le Brun (ed.), Fouilles recentes a Khirokitia Editions Recherche sur Civilisations, Paris, pp. 335-360.
Druon, J.N. (2009). Environmental Analysis of Bluefin Tuna: Identifying its Preferred Habitat in the Mediterranean Sea, EUR – JRC Scientific and Technical Research Reports.
Druon, J.N. (2010). Habitat mapping of the Atlantic bluefin tuna derived from satellite data: its potential as a tool for the sustainable management of pelagic fisheries. Marine Policy, 34: 293-297.
Druon, J.N., Fromentin, J.M., Aulanier, F. & Heikkonen, J. (2011). Potential feeding and spawning habitats of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 439: 223-240.
Farrugio, H., Oliver, P. & Biagi, F. (1993). An overview of the history, knowledge, recent and future research trends in the Mediterranean fisheries. Scientia Marina, 57: 105-119.
Fromentin, J.M. & Powers P.E. (2005). Atlantic bluefin tuna: population dynamics, ecology, fisheries and management. Fish and Fisheries, 6: 281-306.
Fromentin, J.M., Reygondeau, G., Bonhommeau, S. & Beaugrand, G. (2014). Oceanographic changes and exploitation drive the spatio‐temporal dynamics of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). Fisheries Oceanography, 23(2): 147-156.
ICCAT, (2013). Annual Meeting, Recommendation 13-07; Recommendation by ICCAT amending the recommendation 12-03 by ICCAT to establish a multi-annual recovery plan for bluefın tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, 31pp.
ICCAT, (2018). Recommendation by ICCAT Establishing a Multi-Annual Management Plan for Bluefin Tuna in The Eastern Atlantic and The Mediterranean Sea. https://www.iccat.int/Documents/Recs/compendiopdf-e/2018-02-e.pdf (09.09.2019)
Karakulak, F.S. (2007). Catch And Effort Data of the Turkish Bluefın Tuna Fishery (2002-2005), Collective Volume of Scientific Papers, ICCAT, 60(3): 906-912.
Karakulak, S.F., Oray, I., Corriero, A. et al. (2004). First information on the reproductive biology of the bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the eastern Mediterranean, Collective Volume of Scientific Papers, ICCAT, 56, 1158-1162.
Karakulak S.F. & Oray I. (2009). Remarks on the fluctuation of the bluefin tuna catches in Turkish waters, Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT, 63: 153-160.
Karakulak S.F. & Yıldız, T. (2016). Atlantic Bluefin Tuna in The Mediterranean Sea: Fisheries, Farming, Management and Conservation, p. 320-332. In: Turan C., Salihoğlu B., Özbek E.Ö., Öztürk B. (eds.), Turkish Part of The Mediterranean Sea Marine Biodiversity Fisheries Conservation and Governance The Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV), 595p.
Pazarcı, H. (2007). Doğu Akdeniz Kıta Sahanlığı ve Türkiye'nin Stratejisi Paneli, Başkent Üniversitesi Stratejik Araştırmalar Merkezi, 22 Şubat 2007, Ankara.
Royer, F., Fromentin, J.-M. & Gaspar, P. (2004). The association between bluefin tuna schools and oceanic features in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 269: 249-263.
Schick, R.S., Goldstein, J., and Lutcavage, M.E. (2004). Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) distribution in relation to sea surface temperature fronts in the Gulf of Maine (1994-96). Fisheries Oceanography, 13: 225-238.
UN, (2019). Letter dated 18 March 2019 from the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General A/73/804. https://undocs.org/en/A/73/804 (09.09.2019)
Valavanis, V.D., S. Georgakarakos, A. Kapantagakis, A. Palialexis & Katara, I. (2004). A GIS environmental modelling approach to Essential Fish Habitat Designation. Ecological Modelling, 178: 417–427.
Valavanis, V.D., Pierce G.J., Zuur, A.F., Palialexis, A.S., Katara, I. & Jianjun, W. (2008). Modelling of essential fish habitat based on remote sensing, spatial analysis and GIS. In: Vasilis D. Valavanis (ed.), Essential Fish Habitat Mapping in the Mediterranean. Hydrobiologia, 612: 5-20.
Valavanis, V.D., I. Katara & Palialexis, A. (2005). Marine GIS: identiﬁcation of mesoscale oceanic thermal fronts. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 19: 1131–1147.
Wilson, S.G., Lutcavage, M.E., Brill, R.W., Genovese, M.P., Cooper, A.B. & Everly, A.W. (2005). Movements of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean recorded by pop-up satellite archival tags, Marine Biology, 146(2): 409-423.
Yaycı, C. (2012). Doğu Akdeniz’de Deniz Yetki Alanlarının Paylaşılması Sorunu ve Türkiye, Bilge Strateji, 4: 6.