Apart from fish, in the first 6 months of the year, approximately $12 million of fishery products were exported from the Aegean. The United Arab Emirates ranked first with 13 thousand 630 kilograms of black shell mussel exports.
According to the data compiled from the Aegean Exporters’ Associations (EIB), members of the Aegean Fisheries and Animal Products Exporters’ Association accounted for $953 million of the $1.4 billion export of the Turkish aquaculture sector in 2021.
Aegean exporters exported $513 million 707 thousand of fishery products in the first 6 months of 2022.
Sea bass, sea bream and trout played the leading role in aquaculture exports, while Russia, Italy, England, Spain and Greece became the biggest export markets.
Apart from fish, many products such as shrimp, cuttlefish (squid), squid, octopus and sea cucumber, which were extracted from the Aegean Sea, have also reached the cuisines of many countries, especially the USA, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Apart from fish, in the first 6 months of the year, approximately $12 million of fishery products were exported from the Aegean. The United Arab Emirates ranked first with 13 thousand 630 kilograms of black shell mussel exports.
While the biggest market in snail exports was France with 39 thousand 680 kilograms, shrimp exports to Greece reached 45 thousand 320 kilograms in the January-June period.
“Norway and Denmark don’t have diversity. We have surplus”
Sahin Cakan, President of Izmir Fishermen’s Businessmen’s Association, said that red mullet, shrimp and chicken fish extracted by Turkish fishermen within the scope of international trawling opened as of July 15 were exported to Greece to a large extent.
Stating that the hunting season will start in September in Turkiye, Cakan said, “There is an abundance of bonito fishing this year, too, and the signs are in that direction. Bonito is a fish that goes to both the domestic market and export. There will be a lot of fish this year.”
Expressing that the Aegean Sea has a rich diversity, Cakan said, “There are many varieties in the Aegean. Anchovy, sardines, horse mackerel and mackerel are exported. Everyone prefers anchovy. From Denmark to Norway. Today, Norway and Denmark are the countries that have a say in aquaculture exports, but these countries do not have much diversity. They have a salmon and a mackerel, but when you say Turkiye, the Aegean, Marmara and Black Seas contain many varieties. They’re our plus.”
Non-fish fisheries exported from the Aegean
Cakan said that Aegean fishermen are developing not only sea bass, sea bream, trout and anchovy, but also non-fish aquaculture exports.
“The most exported non-fish products from the Aegean are cuttlefish, octopus, squid and shrimp. Spain and Italy are the leading export destinations. For example, France wants crustacean products, but when you say Spain, the products we call ‘bloodless’ are cuttlefish, octopus and squid. These are products with added value. Do not think that it is only exported. In other words, the products are consumed a lot in our domestic market as well.”
Sahin Cakan underlined that the exports of mussels and sea aubergines have also increased recently.
Source: Trthaber / Translated by Irem Yildiz