Support to Izmir's Fishermen for the Maintenance of Their Boats

İzmir Metropolitan Municipality provides material support to small-scale fishermen affiliated with fisheries cooperatives for the maintenance of their boats. The Metropolitan Municipality has approached the end of the field study where the demands were evaluated. The project has been welcomed by fishermen who are having a difficult time economically.

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is working to provide small-scale fishermen operating in aquaculture cooperatives with materials such as paint and paste that they need for boat maintenance. Approaching the end of the field work where the demands are evaluated, Metropolitan will begin the distribution of protective paints and putties after completing the material purchase.

Fishermen who own a licensed fishing boat of less than 11 meters and who are partners in the cooperative will be able to benefit from the project, which was approved by the Council decision dated 2021 January 12 and will last for three years. The project, in which approximately 25 cooperatives in the Peninsula were supported this year, will be extended to the fishermen in the Gediz and Bakırçay basins for the other two years.
The Metropolitan aims to support small-scale fishermen who have economically difficult times with the support of boat maintenance equipment, one of the biggest expense items of the fishermen, to support the continuity of the traditional fishing profession, the protection of biodiversity, and the strengthening of cooperatives and organization.

Besides the metropolitan fisheries cooperatives

Expressing that they started the project in order to find a solution to the reflections of the global fisheries crisis in İzmir, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer, “The fishing boats of 12 meters and below are defined as small scale and although more than 90 percent of the fishing boats in Turkey are small scale, they only meet 10 percent of the fish supply. This ratio actually tells us the situation of small-scale fisheries. However, the side we are hopeful for is that; The United Nations says it is possible to sustain small-scale fisheries by giving more space to small-scale fisheries in the fisheries sector. We will also do our part in this regard. Just as İzmir Metropolitan Municipality stands by small producers and producer cooperatives in agricultural production, it also supports small-scale fisheries and fisheries cooperatives.”

"Cooperative means unity, togetherness"

Büyükşehir's paint and paste support project was welcomed by fishermen. Metin Karan, President of Izmir Region Fisheries Cooperatives Union, thanked Izmir Metropolitan Municipality for the project and said, “Small-scale fishermen need support. Most fishermen have debts to the bank. Fishermen are in a very difficult situation, especially due to the pandemic. Restaurants are closed on weekends, fish prices have dropped, ”he said. Pointing out that a small-scale fishing boat has a maintenance cost of 8-10 thousand lira every year, Metin Karan said, “Generally, we do everything ourselves. But if we hire a master, it is necessary to give him 5 thousand liras. In this case, there is a cost of 15 thousand liras, ”he said. Emphasizing that only the fishermen who are the cooperative partners will benefit from the project, Karan said, "Cooperative means unity, solidarity."