Turgay Türkyılmaz, General Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, stated that the caviar obtained from sturgeon produced in Türkiye will be exported under the brand “Turkish caviar” at the end of 2027 and an income of 100-150 million dollars will be obtained.
Türkyılmaz, who came to Adana’s Yumurtalık district for the harvest carried out in a cage fishing facility, said that Türkiye ranks first in Europe with the amount of production obtained through aquaculture.
Stating that aquaculture is becoming more widespread in the country day by day, Türkyılmaz stated that sea bream and sea bass production has started in Adana, after Muğla, İzmir and Aydın.
Türkyılmaz stated that such production areas should be increased in order to achieve the goals of aquaculture, which has a serious export potential.
Türkyılmaz stated that they included bream, sea bass, trout, Turkish salmon and mussels in the production planning in aquaculture, and within this framework, it is clear how much production will be made on a yearly and regional basis, and that in this way, buyers and sellers can see the future.
Türkyılmaz stated that within the scope of the planning, it was also predicted how many products could be exported to which country, so that companies could sell their products at the value they deserve without creating a competitive environment and without breaking prices.
“WE DO NOT WANT TO INCREASE PRODUCTION THROUGH SEA HUNTING IN ANY WAY”
Stating that the rate of planned production in aquaculture has reached 98 percent, Türkyılmaz stated that there are serious supports to encourage and increase production.
Türkyılmaz said that in the 1980s, aquaculture was almost non-existent in Türkiye, and after the 2000s, with the support of subsidies, the amount of production in aquaculture today exceeds the amount obtained from hunting.
Stating that the supports do not only cause an increase in producers and products obtained through aquaculture, Türkyılmaz said, “We do not want to increase the production made through hunting in the sea in any way. This is the state and country policy. The strategies and planning implemented by our Ministry also form the infrastructure of this. Let the fish in the sea stay in the sea. We are only trying to keep hunting management at a slightly more limited level as a requirement of a sustainable fisheries management. We are also trying to meet our people’s need for fish, which is animal protein, through aquaculture. This is also the strategy of sending it to exports.” We’re in it.” he said.
“THE PURPOSE IS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTION THROUGH CULTIVATION”
Pointing out that Türkiye is one of the most powerful countries in Europe with its fishing fleet capable of hunting aquatic products at sea, Türkyılmaz said:
“Today, our fishing vessels fly the Turkish flag in many countries around the world. While we support this flag flying, on the other hand, we follow the strategy of not catching too much of our own fish in our own territorial waters. Therefore, investments in aquaculture and state supports cause the amount of catch to remain limited. If we wanted to, we could increase the amount of catch we have achieved with the ships in our fishing fleet today by 10 or 20 times in a very short time, maybe within a year, but that is not the goal. The goal is to leave the fish in the sea, “To develop production through cultivation as much as possible, as in the world.”
EXPORT TARGET WITH “TURKISH CAVIAR” BRAND
Türkyılmaz said that they are working especially in the dam lakes in Elazığ and Gaziantep regions to increase the presence of sturgeon, which is in danger of extinction in inland waters.
Stating that sturgeon is not a fish intended for meat consumption, but a species that gains value after caviar is obtained, Türkyılmaz said:
“I can proudly say that by the end of 2027, caviar obtained from sturgeon fish produced in Türkiye will be exported under the brand ‘Turkish caviar’. I would like to say that we will earn around 100-150 million dollars of export income through the caviar obtained from sturgeon fish. We are also very assertive about black caviar. As of today, we have succeeded in producing the most preferred and desired type of caviar in the world. In cooperation with our private sector for the commercial marketing of this We are pushing these markets. I am very pleased to say that caviar produced in Türkiye is also in demand in the world. As of today, even the caviar that has not been produced yet is asking, ‘You will do this anyway, can you give us this much caviar next year?’ “We are talking about a type where agreements and contracts are made by paying our producers in advance.”
