A dead shark that washed ashore this week at Beit Yanai beach in Israel has renewed concerns about the health of Israel’s marine ecosystems — and the growing risks humans face as climate and coastal pressures intensify.

Beachgoers reported the shark early in the morning, one of several unusual strandings seen along Israel’s coast this year. Marine biologists are investigating the cause of death, but early theories point to two escalating stressors: over-fishing, warming waters and desalination impacts.

Israel’s coastal waters are warming faster than the global average, drawing larger predators like sharks closer to shore in search of cooler currents and shifting prey. Earlier this year a man was fatally attacked by a shark while diving off the coast — a rare but stark reminder that marine behavior is changing.

At the same time, scientists warn that intensive desalination, now underpinning Israel’s national water supply, is subtly reshaping coastal ecosystems. While water is being pumped to replenish a shrinking Sea of Galilee, desalinated water is energy intense.

Brine discharge alters salinity and temperature gradients, influencing fish distribution and potentially disorienting species highly sensitive to environmental change, including sharks and sea turtles.

This is part of a wider pattern of marine disruption in the region. A whale was recently found and dragged to Gaza, where desperate residents butchered and consumed it — a grim indicator of ecological collapse intersecting with humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, Israel’s sea turtles, already struggling against plastic pollution and beach development, face these shifting conditions on multiple fronts. This man is protecting sea turtles in the Mediterranean Sea. Find out how. 

The dead shark at Beit Yanai may be just one animal, but it reflects a system under stress. Israel’s Mediterranean coastline — once a relative refuge — is becoming hotter, more crowded, and more industrially burdened. Without serious regional cooperation on marine protection, more strandings, more unpredictability, and more human–wildlife conflict are likely on the horizon. And consider just up the sea, in Lebanon, people are fishing with dynamite. 

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The United Arab Emirates is leading the Arab world by all measures of sustainability in terms of at least concept, if not practice. But their tolerance and ability to learn and pivot is the making of a great nation. Hoping to help Lebanon out of the rubble of a terrorist group takeover by the Hezbollah, the UAE says it’s reaffirming its longstanding commitment to international cooperation and sustainable development, so it sent members from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) on a high-level visit to Lebanon, aimed at strengthening economic ties and advancing strategic partnerships.

The UAE President, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met with President Joseph Aoun in a working visit to the UAE in May, the two leaders discussed ways to expand cooperation in economic, investment, and government sectors.

As part of this effort, the ADFD was tasked to send a delegation to Lebanon to assess potential joint projects, while the UAE’s Knowledge Exchange Office was tasked with visiting Beirut to share best practices on government performance and institutional excellence. Beirut can once again rise up and become the pearl of the Middle East if it lets go of terror and hate.

The three-day visit brought together senior UAE officials and Lebanese leadership to explore collaborative solutions that support Lebanon’s economic recovery and future growth. The delegation met with Aou where discussions centered around enhancing bilateral cooperation and supporting Lebanon’s economic development efforts. 

ADFD also visited the Banque de l’Habitat (Housing Bank) in Beirut to explore cooperation on offering concessional loans to support housing solutions and enable citizens to access affordable housing. Both parties agreed to continue coordination, including upcoming meetings in Abu Dhabi to discuss project implementation and follow-up on proposed initiatives.

“The Fund’s participation underscores the UAE’s commitment to supporting friendly nations, continuing its leading role in fostering international cooperation. ADFD’s partnership with Lebanon spans over five decades, during which we have helped implement strategic development projects across vital sectors such as infrastructure, education, energy, and healthcare, saud H.E. Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD. 

He added: “Our presence in Lebanon today reaffirms our deep commitment to supporting its government in tackling economic challenges and enhancing the quality of life for the Lebanese people. We aim to leverage our expertise and partnerships to help develop sustainable solutions that align with the country’s aspirations for recovery and reconstruction.”

During the Knowledge Exchange Forum, Lebanese Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam praised ADFD’s instrumental role in supporting Lebanon’s development journey since the 1970s, describing the Fund as a trusted partner throughout various stages of national progress and an enabler of tangible improvements across key sectors.

Site visits to the Port of Beirut, Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, Beirut Governmental Hospital, and various public service institutions further underscored the delegation’s focus on identifying immediate priorities and potential areas of collaboration. Can Lebanon eradicate the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hezbollah ideology? Lebanon was founded as a Christian country, while Syria was intended for Islam. The future of the Middle East is at stake. Faith leaders from the Christian faith should be rising up to help the most important focal point for Middle East reform: Lebanon. 

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As officials from Mediterranean countries gather this week for the the UN’s General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) annual session in Croatia. The FAO-based group are working with NGOs urging the adoption of measures that would allow the GFCM to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and cases of non-compliance within its region – a call backed by a legal analysis published this week that shows that GFCM has the competency to impose such measures.

The Mediterranean is being overfished and damaging, illegal trawlers are killing undersea ecosystems. But with the UN’s poor track record in fighting and naming larger issues such as terrorism, it is likely that a UN group will have full faith buy-in for people fighting for fish.

The proposed system under discussion this week – which already exists in other regional fisheries management organisations – would allow the UN-run GFCM group to take action against countries that consistently disregard fishing regulations.

Several organisations of the Med Sea Alliance argue that creating a compliance mechanism is crucial for the Mediterranean’s biodiversity, fish stock recovery, and the communities that rely on marine resources.

“At the moment, the GFCM cannot act when countries systematically fail to follow its requirements on, for example, fleet control or properly reporting on their fishing activities, but with such a system in place, the GFCM could apply measures such as suspending fishing authorisations or requiring increased controls,” said Helena Álvarez, Senior Marine Scientist at Oceana in Europe. “This is a prerequisite for ensuring the survival of the Mediterranean’s unique biodiversity, to support the recovery of fish stocks and the communities that rely on marine resources”.

“The Mediterranean Sea, rich in biodiversity and vital to the livelihoods of countless fishermen, faces persistent challenges”, said Nils Courcy, Senior Jurist, Marine & Mediterranean, at ClientEarth. “Fishing rules and regulations are established through consensus, but implementation and enforcement often fall short. A compliance mechanism can help enforce regulations that prevent destructive fishing practices, such as bottom trawling, which can harm or destroy vital habitats, such as seagrass (Posidonia oceanica). This gap in enforcement endangers shared natural resources and the very existence of the fishermen who depend on them.”

A legal analysis by Professor Tullio Scovazzi – retired former professor of international law at the Universities of Parma, Genoa, Milan and Milan-Bicocca, Italy – and Professor Simone Vezzani, – professor of international and European law at the University of Perugia, Italy – confirms that the GFCM has the competency to impose corrective measures in cases of non-compliance.

The analysis was commissioned by the Med Sea Alliance, a coalition of non-governmental organisations working to improve the health and productivity of the Mediterranean Sea, in response to questions raised during the GFCM Compliance Committee meeting in May 2023 about the compatibility of such a system with international law. The legal analysis concludes that the current lack of a compliance mechanism is not a legal, but rather a political question.

“As this legal analysis shows, the only thing holding back GFCM from effectively dealing with states who don’t follow the rules is a matter of political will,” said Jesús Urios Culiañez, Environmental Justice Foundation’s lead campaigner for the Mediterranean. “This week, GFCM Members have an opportunity to make the meaningful change we need. By establishing a strong enforcement system for the conservation and management of the Mediterranean, they can protect marine ecosystems and support the livelihoods of those who rely on them. They must not let this opportunity slip away.”

In a Call to Action published during the GFCM High-level conference on MedFish4Ever initiatives, several member organisations of the Med Sea Alliance urged GFCM members to create a compliance mechanism, expand vessel tracking and that other tracking measures (AIS) and ensure that that trawl bans in the Mediterranean Sea are fully enforced and complied with to support the recovery of fish stocks and the protection of sensitive habitats.

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has welcomed the approval by UN member states of a landmark legally binding agreement, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in international waters, covering nearly two-thirds of world’s ocean. The world’s oceans are in trouble from over-fishing, pollution, plastic, climate change. 

The FAO is set to support its members in implementing the accord, often referred to as the “High Seas Treaty”, on safeguarding Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), which has been under discussion for nearly two decades and was approved at an intergovernmental conference in New York on 19 June after 5 negotiating sessions.  

Treaty marks new heights for marine protection

The BBNJ Agreement “is of great importance to our efforts to tackle environmental challenges and promote the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity on the high seas,” said Manuel Barange, director of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Division.

The agreement “enables us to complete the legal and institutional framework for global ocean governance and as a result manage and conserve our precious marine living resources more effectively,” Barange said.

The FAO has consistently advocated for sustainable and effective fisheries management as the best way to replenish stocks, conserving biodiversity and ensuring people continue to benefit from the ocean’s resources, including the high seas. 

In tackling biodiversity challenges, including those in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the Organization argues that lasting progress can only be achieved through sustainable practices that enable humans to restore the health of marine ecosystems as part of effective management solutions. 

As the only intergovernmental organization mandated to undertake the collection, compilation, analysis and distribution of global fisheries and aquaculture data, the FAO has played a crucial role in informing the treaty process and will assist in the implementation of this new legally binding instrument.

Groundwork already laid

Working with its partners through the Common Oceans Program, FAO has already laid the groundwork for change in the ocean governance of shared marine waters.  Between 2014-2019, the program helped to establish 18 new areas to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems, contributed to the reduction of marine pollution and rebuilt tuna stocks to more sustainable levels. It has also helped to lower the bycatch, or discarding by fishers of such species as dolphins and porpoises in the Indian Ocean and the threat to marine turtles in the Pacific Ocean, as well as to build capacity on the BBNJ process and foster public-private partnerships. 

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Even protected oceans and seas are severely affected by “edge effect”

A new study by Tel Aviv University reveals significant ecological damage to many marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world. The study findings point to a strong “edge effect” in these areas, such as a sharp 60% reduction in the fish population living at the edges – up to a distance of 1-1.5 km within the protected space compared to core areas.

The “edge effect” significantly diminishes the effective size of the protected space, and largely stems from human pressures, first and foremost overfishing at the borders.

The study was conducted by Sarah Ohayon, a doctoral student at the laboratory of Prof. Yoni Belmaker, School of Zoology at Tel Aviv University. 

MPAs were designed to protect marine ecosystems, and help to conserve and restore fish populations and marine invertebrates whose numbers are increasingly dwindling due to overfishing.

The effectiveness of MPAs has been proven in thousands of studies conducted worldwide. At the same time, most studies sample only the “inside” and “outside” of the MPAs, and there still is a knowledge gap about what happens in the space between the core of the MPAs and areas open for fishing around them.

Ohayon explains that when an MPA functions properly, the expectation is that the recovery of the marine populations in the MPAs will result in a spillover, a process where fish and marine invertebrates migrate outside the borders of the MPA. In this way, the MPA can contribute not only to the conservation of marine nature, but also to the renewal of fish populations outside the MPA that have dwindled due to overfishing.

To answer the question what is the dominant spatial pattern of marine populations from within MPAs to areas open for fishing around them, the researchers conducted a meta-analysis that included spatial data of marine populations from dozens of MPAs located in different parts of the oceans. 

“When I saw the results, I immediately understood that we are looking at a pattern of edge effect”, emphasizes Ohayon. “The edge effect is a well-studied phenomenon in terrestrial protected areas, but surprisingly has not yet been studied empirically in MPAs. “This phenomenon occurs when there are human disturbances and pressures around the MPA, such as hunting/fishing, noise or light pollution that reduce the size of natural populations within the MPAs near their borders”.

The researchers found that 40% of the no-take MPAs around the world (areas where fishing activity is completed prohibited) are less than 1 km², which means that entire area is likely to experience an edge effect. In total, 64% of all no-take MPAs in the world are smaller than 10 km² and may hold only about half (45-56%) of the expected population size in their area compared to a situation without an edge effect. These findings indicate that the global effectiveness of existing no-take MPAs is far less than previously thought.

It should be emphasized that the edge effect pattern does not eliminate the possibility of fish spillover, and it is quite plausible that fishers still enjoy large fish coming from within the MPAs. This is evidenced by the concentration of fishing activity at the borders of MPAs. At the same time, the edge effect makes it clear to us that marine populations near the border of MPAs are declining at a faster rate than the recovery of the populations around the MPA.

The study findings also show that in those MPAs with buffer zones around them, no edge effect patterns were recorded, but rather a pattern consistent with fish spillover outside the MPA. Additionally, a smaller edge effect was observed in well-enforced MPAs than those where illegal fishing was reported. “These findings are encouraging, as they signify that by putting buffer zones in place, managing fishing activity around MPAs and improving enforcement, we can increase the effectiveness of the existing MPAs and most probably also increase the benefits they can provide through fish spillover”, adds Ohayon.

“When planning new MPAs, apart from the implementation of regulated buffer zones, we recommend that the no-take MPAs targeted for protection be at least 10 km² and as round as possible. These measures will reduce the edge effect in MPAs. Our research findings provide practical guidelines for improving the planning and management of MPAs, so that we can do a better job of protecting our oceans.”

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It was made to track pirates, but a new UN navigation system can catch illegal fishing boats.

A new global atlas – the first-ever of its kind – analyses the opportunities and challenges of using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) to monitor fishing activity around the globe. 

AIS is a tracking technology designed for navigation safety that transmits a ship’s location, identity, course and speed. By using machine-learning algorithms, AIS information allows us to identify vessel’s activity at sea.

The number of fishing vessels with AIS is increasing by 10 to 30 percent each year, making this technology more and more informative with time.

Related: fishing with a drone dropping the hook!

AIS provides detailed tracks of tens of thousands of industrial fishing vessels, and this detailed tracking data has the potential to provide estimates of fishing activity and effort in near real time. This Atlas assesses this potential and shows that AIS can start to be considered a valid technology for estimating fishing indicators.

Global Fishing Watch (GFW) published in 2018 a first global database of fishing operations based on AIS data. This dataset tracked the activity of over 60,000 fishing vessels, and was used to understand fishing around the world. 

But the use of this new technology for monitoring fishing activity needed verifying and reviewing so fisheries managers and policy makers can fully understand its strengths and limitations. 

The 400-page Global Atlas on AIS-based Fishing Activity provides this detailed review, and can prove a useful tool for improving sustainable fisheries management in line with SDG14. 

It is the result of a two-year analysis of the GFW data, region by region, drawing on the knowledge of 80 fisheries experts, FAO fisheries data, and other scientific databases. The atlas also includes two local comprehensive analyses – on all fisheries in the Bay of Biscay and Seychelles’ tuna fisheries.

The Atlas finds that in some regions, AIS data can provide a near comprehensive view of fishing activity, this is for example the case in the northern Atlantic for vessels above 15 metres in length, whilst in other regions, this data provides only a small fraction of the fisheries activity, as is the case of the Indian Ocean. This is partly due to the large proportion of artisanal or small size vessel sizes in many central and southern regions, but also because of lower use of AIS by larger vessels in regions such as Southeast Asia.

The Atlas confirms that the Northwest Pacific (FAO Fishing Area 61) and Northeast Atlantic (Area 27) are the areas with more industrialized fisheries and where AIS technology is more adopted. . The largest discrepancy between AIS-based information and other fishing data occur for fishing activity in the Eastern Indian Ocean (Area 57).

Key findings:

• AIS can track the majority of the world’s large fishing vessels (above 24 metres), especially from upper and middle-income countries and territories, distant water fleets and vessels on the high seas.
• For monitoring fishing activity, AIS data has its limitations. AIS is carried by a small number of the world’s 2.8 million fishing vessels, and compared to the Vessels Monitoring System (VMS), vessels can more easily turn off their AIS or broadcast incorrect identity information.
• AIS use varies significantly by fishing areas. In Europe, almost all vessels over 15 meters have AIS. In Southeast Asia, very few have AIS and reception quality is poor.
• AIS data is limited for multi-gear vessels as highlighted in the analysis on the Bay of Biscay.
• AIS is still limited in terms of its capacity to discriminate types of fishing activities for smaller scale fisheries using multiple combinations of fishing gears.
• AIS can provide information on fishing activity much more rapidly than logbooks or official assessments via VMS. However, AIS’s level of detail (e.g. number of fishing gear or species captured) could be insufficient for many other uses.
• Longliners with wide presence in high seas worldwide are the type of vessels better captured by AIS-based algorithms. AIS also captures well other main fishing gears such as purse seiners and trawlers, but tend to underrepresent their importance compared to longliners. This is confirmed by worldwide catch data showing that the order of prevalence of fishing gears is trawls, purse seines, longlines and other gears with variations across FAO areas.
• AIS could start to be considered as a viable technology for near real time estimates of fishing effort and marine spatial planning provided it is supported by human verification given its variable accuracy.

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Why have dolphins and other types of marine life almost disappeared from Israel’s shores? And why are projects such as deep water energy drilling and desalination threatening to make the eastern Mediterranean an area increasingly devoid of most marine life?
The answer appears obvious, as well as foreboding, in a recent comprehensive report on the state of the marine environment in Israel’s section of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The report, written by Aviad Scheinin, a researcher for the National Program for Ecosystem Assessment,  was prepared in cooperation with the Environmental Ministry and the Jewish National Fund, responsible for many reforestation and other nature projects in Israel.

The findings of the reported published by Haaretz, covered a range of human sponsored activities that included over-development of the country’s Mediterranean coastline, over fishing by both commercial and sports fishermen, undersea energy exploration and extraction; and the dramatic increase of desalination activity.

Within the framework of the report, marine environmental damage caused by these factors were analyzed according to the scope of the activities and the resulting environmental damage caused. Each human caused activity was found to result in significant damage to both the undersea environment as well as to the coastline itself.

While some projects were said to have been  done  for the good of the coastal environment, such as building breakwaters to prevent further erosion of coastal cliffs, building these structures will prevent natural accumulation of sand and also be detrimental to marine life such as sea turtles, says Scheinin.

Desalination, which has sometimes been referred to a “a necessary evil” , comes from an increasing need for fresh water supplies.  The damage it does to aquatic marine life is enormous, however; often resulting in the disappearance of entire marine species.

“In light of forecasts that 750 million cubic meters of seawater will be desalinized by the end of the decade, and given the relative crowding of facilities, it would be fair to assume that it will become impossible to avoid the environmental ramifications of this activity,” the report states.

Over fishing, especially by use of what are known as “drag nets” is depleting fish from the eastern Mediterranean at an alarming rate as well.  Even sport fishing was not given given a very good write up in the report as certain fish species, like grouper, are being fast depleted by divers using spear guns.

Over all, the future the Mediterranean along Israel’s coastline does not look very promising. The report ends by stating that the only improvement found was the reduction of raw sewage being allowed to flow directly into the sea; as in contrast perhaps to neighboring countries like Lebanon.

With only 0.25 percent of Israel’s coastal waters protected by nature reserves, a lot more needs to be done to protect the Mediterranean and its marine life before it is too late to do so.

Read more on environmental issues threatening the Eastern Mediterranean:
Why Dolphins Have Disappeared from Israel’s Shores
Noble Energy May be Pushing its Luck by Drilling for deep Oil in the Med
Lebanon: Green Peace Investigation Reveals toxic Coast Pollution
Scales, Impingmen and Entrainment; Know Desalination’s Negative Side

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Corals reefs are an invaluable part of the marine ecosystem, fostering biodiversity and protecting coastlines. But coral reefs are increasingly endangered. Pathogenic bacteria, along with pollution, global warming and harmful fishing practices, are one of the biggest threats to the world’s coral populations today.

One of the solutions to the crisis may lie in human medicine. Prof. Eugene Rosenberg of Tel Aviv University has developed a treatment for coral infected by Thalassomonas loyana, otherwise known as White Plague disease. This deadly bacterium infects 9 percent of Favia favus corals on the Eilat coral reef in the Red Sea and readily transmits the disease to nearby healthy corals.

Rosenberg’s treatment uses viruses that infect bacteria by injecting genetic material into the bacteria, a therapy originally developed to treat bacterial infections in humans. In this case, Rosenberg and his team isolated a virus called BA3, one of a category of viruses known as phages. After laboratory experiments showed that BA3 had the ability to kill off White Plague disease, field experiments in the Gulf of Eilat demonstrated that the treatment stopped the progression of the disease in infected corals and prevented the spread of the disease to surrounding healthy corals as well.

These findings were presented at the American Society for Microbiology’s general meeting in June.

Treating bacterial infections in corals is no easy task. Because corals don’t produce antibodies like humans, they can’t be immunized. And pharmaceutical antibiotics are not a viable option because the treatment releases the drugs into the sea, harming the marine environment.

The researchers applied their treatment to two groups of diseased coral, each surrounded by a circle of healthy corals. In the test group, the researchers injected the virus into the area at a concentration of 1000 per milliliter. The control group did not receive the virus.

After 24 hours, the difference in the outcome was highly significant, says Rosenberg. In the test group, the infection of the diseased coral ceased its progression, and the disease did not spread to the surrounding healthy corals. In the control group, however, the White Plague disease progressed rapidly in the original infected coral and spread to seven out of ten of the surrounding healthy corals.

The next step is to develop an effective way to spread the viruses over large areas of an infected coral reef. Sufficient amounts of these viruses can be easily manufactured in the laboratory. After that, it’s a question of technology and funding, Rosenberg adds.

Image of coral reef, Eilat from Shutterstock

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The new fishing season in Turkey will kick off in just a few days, on Sept. 1. In preparation, Turkey’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock has proposed new fishing legislation, raising the length of legal catches and the depth of legal dragnet use, according to independent media center Bianet. Slowing the extinction of a species

One fish that will benefit from the new laws is the turbot, which is an endangered species, according to Greenpeace Mediterranean Oceans Campaigner  Banu Dökmecibaşı.

Under the new laws, the length of a legal turbot catch will be raised from 40 centimeters to 45. It seems like a trivial change, but those extra five centimeters will mean many more juvenile turbots stay in the water and have a chance to breed, boosting the overall population.

To further encourage prolific breeding in the species, turbot hunting will be restricted between April 15 and June 15.

The legal length of sea bream and sea bass will also be raised, from 20 to 35 centimeters and 18 to 25 centimeters, respectively.

The use of dragnets, meanwhile, will be banned around the Princes’ Islands, the Gulf of İzmit, and the Bay of Büyükçekmece, all of which are in the Marmara Sea off the southern coast of Istanbul. In areas where the nets can still be used, the depth of the water must be at least 24 meters, up from the 18-meter depth previously required by law.

If approved by the Prime Ministry, the laws will remain in effect for the next four years.

Struggle for sustainable fishing not over yet in Turkey

Greenpeace Mediterranean has been campaigning for laws against the capture of juvenile fish since 2010. Hundreds of thousands of Turks have petitioned, texted, and made phone calls to their government about the issue through Greenpeace’s efforts.

While the new regulations are certainly an improvement over their predecessors, they still lag behind the regulations recommended by Greenpeace — and followed in other parts of the world.

In European Union countries, for example, dragnet fishing is banned in waters shallower than 50 meters. And while restricting dragnet use in certain parts of the Marmara Sea is a positive step, the entire sea should be designated a conservation zone, according to Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner Dökmecibaşı.

Beyond making these laws, moreover, the government must ensure they are enforced, Dökmecibaşı told Bianet. The hunting and sale of juvenile bluefish was banned in Turkey last year, she pointed out, but the law was rarely enforced because of a lack of inspection.

In addition, Turkey has suffered from a spike in illegal fishing gangs, who occasionally turn violent when environmentalists attempt to intervene. The government has managed to cut down on the problem significantly in recent months, however, Dökmecibaşı says.

:: Bianet

Read more about conservation in Turkey:

Long-Awaited Wildlife Corridor Becoming Reality in Turkey

Environmentalist Partially Blinded By Illegal Fishermen In Istanbul

In Remotest Anatolia, Lone NGO Speaks Up On Nature’s Behalf

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Fishing is a time-honored Istanbul tradition. But to catch and sell fish, one must have a license nowadays. That doesn’t stop some from illegally trawling for fish in the Bosphorus, or the two seas that sandwich Istanbul. Today, one such trawler nearly took the life of a man who’s been campaigning against illegal fishing for years.

The attacker, reportedly from a trawling gang, came to a teahouse where Aslan was sitting and asked him to come outside so they could talk. They argued for a few minutes about Aslan’s opposition to trawling. Then the man pulled a gun on him, and fired — aiming to kill.

Two months previously, Aslan, who is head of a union of fishery associations, issued a report effectively declaring war against illegal fishermen. After this opening shot, he began to receive threats from some members of a trawling gang, culminating in the shooting at the teahouse.

The marine police and the coastguard, meanwhile, seem to have done little to help solve the proliferation of illegal fishermen in Istanbul’s waterways and seas.

Defne Koryürek is an environmental activist who is prominent in Turkey’s Slow Food movement as well as being known for helping fight against illegal fishing. According to facts she shared with Turkish media, the number of illegal trawlers in Istanbul has increased by 600 percent over the past year, from 50 to 300.

Koryürek has called on Turkey’s Interior Ministry to help solve the problem, which she says amounts to “banditry”. Unfortunately, as the trawlers become wealthier, they’ll only find it easier to pay fines or bribes to the officials who catch them.

:: Hurriyet Daily News

Read more about poaching in the Middle East:

Crazy Kuwaitis Use Shotguns To Kill 12 Flamingos
1 Million Migrating Songbirds Are Killed For Pickled Dish In Cyprus
Thai Migrant Workers Poach Wildlife For Food In Israel

Image via Yerel Gundem

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