The "Climate Hunter" project, implemented by an international consortium consisting of five institutions, aims to protect the Black Sea from invasive marine species and keep their populations under control.
Within the scope of the project, which will be implemented simultaneously for two years in Türkiye, Romania and Georgia, diving activities will be carried out in different regions in the first stage and the places where the species in question live densely will be determined. In the following period, fishermen will be allowed to catch these species, and then the caught species will be purchased by the consortium carrying out the project in order to bring them into the economy.
In the final stage of the project, special menus prepared from invasive species by the consortium will be offered to consumers in contracted hotels, restaurants and catering establishments.
Within the framework of the project, coastal fishermen will also be trained on these species and hunting methods, and new special hunting equipment will be provided for them.
"They will realize that this is an economic value."
The project manager and Sinop University Vocational School, Plant and Animal Production Department, Fisheries Technology Program Lecturer Assoc. Dr. Barış Bayraklı told the AA correspondent that the project supported by the European Union is part of the "Let's restore our oceans and water" mission.
Explaining that they want to bring the marine creatures known as invasive in the Black Sea into the economy with various activities they will carry out within the scope of the project, Bayraklı stated that climate change offers new opportunities for fishermen in this sense.
Bayraklı stated that, as scientists, they closely follow the changes taking place in the Black Sea and are working towards this, and that they believe that the "Climate Hunter" project will make a significant contribution to these studies.
Bayraklı pointed out that some of the invasive species, especially the blue crab, are breeding in the Black Sea and have now made it their permanent home, and said, "This is a process. The Black Sea is turning into a sea basin affected by climate change. We see these. As aquaculture academics, we are taking the initiative from Sinop to take precautions as soon as possible. We will carry out such studies in order to follow these regularly and protect and restore our sea." he said.
Emphasizing that it is not possible to destroy invasive species, but it is possible to bring them into the economy, Bayraklı said:
"We have had very bad experiences with sea snails. We have had very bad experiences with our black mussels. Sea snails caused serious problems in these mussel areas. Now, blue crabs are the species that are complained about by global fishermen. They are species that cause serious damage to the nets of coastal fishermen, especially in the Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean. Gigas (Pacific oysters) also occupy the areas where black mussels and Mediterranean mussels are found. We are fighting against them. "We think that we can economically develop our fishermen at the point of a sustainable blue economy by getting along well with these species and creating hunting pressure on them."
Emphasizing that the training to be given to fishermen and the information activities to be carried out are one of the most important pillars of the project, Bayraklı said:
"Our aim is to introduce these species directly to our fishermen. After introducing them, they will be able to manage what they know correctly, and they will realize that this is an economic value. They will directly contribute to the protection and restoration process of our seas, as well as providing economic gain. When they release new fish or seafood such as blue crabs back into the sea, they wonder, 'Are we supporting the invasion by leaving these behind?' "They will have asked themselves this question very seriously."
