Turgay Türkyılmaz, Director General of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, made statements regarding the ministry's pufferfish fishing activities.
Pointing out that the impacts of global climate change and sea water temperatures are increasing day by day, Türkyılmaz said that invasive species entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and that they had a negative impact on both the marine ecosystem and fisheries.
Türkyılmaz pointed out that puffer fish is one of the most invasive species and recalled that in 2020 they started “supporting the hunting of puffer fish” to combat this threat.
Explaining that with the application they are contributing to the protection of marine biodiversity and supporting fishermen in the fight against invasive species, Türkyılmaz explained that other countries bordering the Mediterranean have also initiated similar buyback support inspired by Türkiye.
“We estimate that the fight will continue much more effectively in 2026.”
Türkyılmaz also explained the details of supporting pufferfish fishing.
Emphasizing that a support payment of 35 lira per piece was paid for the spotted puffer fish, which is the most harmful of the eight species of puffer fish found in the country's territorial waters, and 10 lira for other species, Türkyılmaz emphasized that the purchase limit of 200,000 pieces of other puffer fish species set for 2026 was reached in a short period of time due to the great interest of fishermen. Türkyılmaz reminded that the subsidy amounts and the limit of 100,000 pieces for spotted puffer fish were maintained by the presidential decree, and explained that the purchase amount for other species was increased from 200,000 to 1 million.
Explaining that each pufferfish was counted and preserved, Türkyılmaz said:
“In 6 years, 665,000 puffer fish were removed from the ecosystem. 276,000 of them were the spotted puffer fish, the most harmful species. In this regard, a support payment of about 13 million lira was made to our fishermen. According to scientific calculations, thanks to puffer fish hunting, about 50 million new puffer fish were prevented from joining the ecosystem. We assume that the fight will be achieved by increasing the purchase limit for other species to 1 million will be continued much more effectively in 2026.”
Emphasizing that as a ministry, they carry out scientific studies, constantly collect data on the ground and track the spread of puffer fish, Türkyılmaz pointed out that they also put regional changes into practice when necessary.
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