The project aims to initiate a model optimized according to the marine infrastructure facilities currently available at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry who, by law, is responsible to carry out stock monitoring and assessment studies in Turkey. The only fisheries research vessel owned by the ministry is not sufficient large to conduct fisheries surveys covering the entire range of the anchovy in the Black Sea. However, to fulfill the biological requirements the species undergoes seasonal migrations and aggregates on the southeast Black Sea in winter. Almost 90% of the stock is accumulated within an area not larger than 1% of surface area of the Black Sea. One of the goals of the project is to set the borders of the over-wintering area and to determine the environmental overwintering conditions. The next goal is to assess the size of the over wintering stock using hidro-acoustic techniques. The results are planned to incorporate in a stock assessment model tested and modified for the Black Sea anchovy.
The ultimate goal of the project is to prepare and submit a national fisheries data and stock assessment report to be submitted to international fisheries commissions such as GFCM and STECF.
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