Türkiye's fishing fleets set sail as new season opens

Türkiye's annual fishing ban, which runs from mid-April through September 1 each year, has lifted, sending crews nationwide back to sea.

Harbors filled with decorated boats and traditional launch chants as fishermen marked the opening of a new season expected to shape both local diets and national exports.

At ports nationwide, boats were fitted with Turkish flags and readied for their first voyage in nearly five months.

Crews spent the closed season repairing nets and vessels, preparing for a launch that follows a rhythm unchanged for generations along Türkiye's coastline.

Fishermen greeted the reopening with "Vira Bismillah," a traditional phrase called out before departure to mark the start of a voyage.

The chant, passed down through generations of coastal communities, signaled that boats were finally clear to head into open water.

Harbor ceremonies included prayers for a safe and plentiful season, a custom that precedes the first departure each year.

Local officials and religious figures took part, reflecting how deeply the fishing calendar is woven into community life along Türkiye's shores.

As dusk fell, boats pulled away from the docks one by one, watched by families gathered on the shore.

For many crews, the departure marks months of separation from home, spent instead navigating weather, tides and the unpredictable rhythms of the sea.

Once past the harbor, crews lowered nets into water untouched by commercial fishing since spring.

Opening hours often prove uncertain, with catches scattered until crews locate schools using sonar and years of experience reading the sea's surface.

By the early hours, hauls began coming in, with anchovy among the most common catch reported on opening night.

Crews worked through darkness to sort and store the fish before returning to shore, where buyers waited to move the catch onward to markets.

In Istanbul, the new season was marked with a formal ceremony at Kirecburnu Balikci Iskelesi, a fishing harbor on the city's Bosphorus shoreline.

Officials, industry representatives and fishermen gathered to mark the start of the fishing calendar in Türkiye's largest city.

Istanbul Deputy Governor Mustafa Kaya addressed the gathering, describing fishing as one of humanity's oldest trades.

He said crews were relied upon to bring "the fish that will grace our tables," adding that larger catches typically translate into lower prices for consumers.

AK Parti Istanbul lawmaker Adem Yildirim also spoke at the ceremony, calling Türkiye's surrounding waters a "blue homeland" and describing fishermen as playing a role in protecting marine resources. He wished crews a productive and incident-free season ahead.

Yildirim cited figures showing Türkiye's seafood sector has expanded more than tenfold over the past 25 years.

The country now exports fish to about 100 nations, ranking among Europe's top three producers and within the world's top 15, according to the figures he presented.

Following a closing prayer led by Istanbul's chief mufti, boats departed the harbor and moved out into the Bosphorus.

The ceremony closed a nationwide cycle of openings that, this year, will pair centuries-old tradition with a fishing sector reporting sharply rising trade with foreign markets.