30.12.2025 10:21
As part of the supported fishing activities aimed at reducing the population of the pufferfish, which kills with its poison and damages fishermen's equipment with its strong jaw, a total of 111,197 fish were caught between 2020 and 2025; additionally, the entry of 8,339,775 new individuals into the ecosystem was prevented. Over the course of 6 years, 1,227,144 Turkish lira in support payments was made to pufferfish hunters.
In order to reduce the density and stock recruitment rate of the pufferfish, which harms aquatic biodiversity in the seas and the fishing gear of fishermen, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry included pufferfish fishing in the support program in 2020. With this application, fishermen holding a fishing vessel license delivered the 8 species of pufferfish or their tails they caught to the locations determined by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry. The study aimed at reducing the population of pufferfish, which kills with its poison and damages fishermen's catch materials with its strong jaw, emphasized the importance of 'fishing'.
FISHERMEN CAUGHT 22,450 PUFFERFISH IN ANTALYA
The application that encourages the fishing of the rapidly increasing invasive pufferfish to reduce its density in the ecosystem completed its purchasing transactions for the 2025 support program on December 1. A payment of 479,600 lira was made to fishermen who received support for pufferfish fishing in Antalya. In the city, fishermen engaged in pufferfish fishing delivered 10,204 pufferfish of the species Lagocephalus sceleratus and 12,246 pufferfish of other species. A support of 35 lira was provided for each pufferfish of the species known as 'spotted pufferfish' (Lagocephalus sceleratus) and 10 lira for each of the other pufferfish species. Applications for pufferfish fishing support will start on January 2, 2026.
75 NEW FISH WERE PREVENTED WITH THE CATCH OF 1 PUFFERFISH
With the support application, approximately 75 new individuals' entry into the ecosystem was prevented for each female pufferfish caught from the species 'Lagocephalus sceleratus', 'Lagocephalus spadiceus', 'Lagocephalus suezensis', 'Lagocephalus guentheri', 'Torquigener flavimaculosus', 'Tylerius spinosissimus', 'Lagocephalus lagocephalu', 'Sphoeroides pachygaster'. According to the data from the Antalya Provincial Directorate of Agriculture, 111,197 pufferfish were caught between 2020 and 2025, including 68,785 of the species 'Lagocephalus sceleratus' and 42,412 of other species. Fishermen received a support payment of 1 million 227 thousand 144 lira during the 6 fishing periods in this process. Thanks to the pufferfish caught with the fishing support, the entry of 8 million 339 thousand 775 new individuals into the ecosystem was prevented.
NUMBER OF PUFFERFISH CAUGHT IN ANTALYA BY YEAR
The number of pufferfish caught in Antalya by year under the support program is as follows: "In 2020, 35,343 of the species 'Lagocephalus sceleratus' were caught, totaling 2 million 650 thousand 725; in 2021, 2,164 'Lagocephalus sceleratus' and 1,794 of other species were caught, totaling 296 thousand 850; in 2022, 8,047 'Lagocephalus sceleratus' and 6,540 of other species were caught, totaling 1 million 94 thousand 25; in 2023, 4,779 'Lagocephalus sceleratus' and 5,611 of other species were caught, totaling 779 thousand 250; in 2024, 8,248 of the species 'Lagocephalus sceleratus' and 16,221 of other species were caught, preventing the entry of 1 million 835 thousand 175 new pufferfish into the ecosystem."