Interactions Between Sea Turtles and Fishing Along the Aegean Coast of Turkey

In this study, the interactions (encountering and bycatching) of the sea turtles with fisheries in the Aegean Sea were investigated. Data were collected by face-to-face survey with a total of 404 fishermen in 98 fisheries cooperatives for 5 provinces (Canakkale, Balikesir, Izmir, Aydin and Mugla) between August 2016 and October 2017. The interactions are more intense in places where fishing activities coincide with the living areas of these living beings. Although there is maximum (100%) interaction (visual contact) on the coast of Aydin (100%), the average annual encounter within these five provinces is quite high with 88%. While there is a significant difference in the rate of encounters with turtles had been found between the provinces (p0.05). Even though one of every four fishermen who participated in the survey had bycaught sea turtles at least once, the most of bycatching occurred in the fishing gears in the group of trammel/gill nets with 76%. In areas where sea turtles are concentrated on the Aegean coast, applications should be carried out to prevent or reduce incidental catch of the fishing gears. Because the results show that these living beings are heading towards the Aegean north due to global warming. Keywords: Aegean Sea, sea turtles, fishing gears