University and Aquaculture/Fisheries Sector Collaboration

Turkey's aquaculture sector, which earned USD 1.097 billion in foreign currency during January–October 2021, has added a new link to university-export cooperation to push export figures higher. Aegean Aquatic Products and Animal Products Exporters Association, in cooperation with Ege University Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, analyzed nutritional values for sea bass, gilthead bream, Turkish salmon and trout species that stand out in aquaculture exports.

USD 1.09 billion aquaculture exports in January–October period

Aegean Aquatic Products and Animal Products Exporters Association Chairman Bedri Girit stated, "Over the past 20–25 years, Turkish entrepreneurs have brought the world's most modern and integrated facilities in the aquaculture sector to our country. We have reached a position where we export aquatic products rich in protein from these facilities to more than 90 countries. During January–October 2021, we achieved aquaculture exports valued at USD 1.09 billion. During January–October 2021, Turkish sea bass once again became the world's favorite with an export value of USD 383 million. During January–October 2021, Turkish sea bass once again became the world's favorite with an export value of USD 383 million. While Turkey earned USD 311 million in foreign currency from gilthead bream exports; trout exports totaled USD 123 million, and tuna exports USD 20 million," he said.

Objective is to promote aquaculture development

Noting that significant growth is being experienced in aquaculture globally, Bedri Girit stated that this is reflected in Turkey's market: "Due to factors such as sea pollution, overfishing and improper fishing practices, capture fisheries are declining. Globally, the share of aquaculture is at 50 percent. Today we see this ratio reaching 47 percent in Turkey. The objective here is to promote aquaculture development through controlled production close to the market. With awareness of all these issues, we are trying to support our exporters through a series of promotional projects to increase our sector's exports and develop the visibility and image of the Turkish aquaculture sector worldwide," he said. Girit continued: "As is known, with the world population expected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050, protein demand is projected to increase by more than 35 percent. In this context, aquaculture plays vital importance in securing protein sources. Recently, environmentally-friendly policies such as the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement are very much on the agenda. Through the European Green Deal, the target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050," he added.

Working towards a low-carbon economy

Noting that carbon tax on exports will come in the coming years with the EU's border carbon adjustment mechanism, Bedri Girit stated: "As the Aegean Aquatic Products and Animal Products Exporters Association, we are implementing projects aimed at raising awareness among our members about reducing carbon emissions in the aquaculture sector and taking initiatives. In this context, we are cooperating with our valued university, Ege University, on conducting a current state analysis of the sector's carbon emissions (calculation of carbon footprint, identification of which factors increase it and to what extent, etc.) and subsequently determining a roadmap. We plan to continue our work on this matter through our Food Sector Sustainability Ur-Ge project."

Industry-university cooperation strengthening

Ege University Faculty of Aquatic Sciences Dean Prof. Dr. Uğur Sunlu emphasized that cooperation between industry and university needs to increase each day. Pointing out that Ege University and EİB are excellent examples in this regard, Sunlu stated they have been working in harmony for approximately 4 years. Reminding that annual fish consumption in Turkey is approximately 6 kilograms, Sunlu said, "Our objective is to increase 6 kilograms of consumption to 24 kilograms. We are far from the consumption figures we desire. In some Far Eastern countries, it reaches up to 70 kilograms. Our objective is to properly communicate aquaculture products to our people and increase consumption." Noting that the study examined chemical composition values, fatty acid composition distributions, omega-3 and omega-6 ratios, vitamin, mineral and heavy metal content, Dinçer stated: "In farmed gilthead bream and sea bass species, similar and high values were determined in terms of chemical composition, fatty acid composition, mineral content and vitamin values compared to wild samples," he said.