Would you like some ‘Turkish salmon'?: The Black Sea's new rose-coloured gold
ISTANBUL, June 21 — Sitting in his spacious office with a view of the Black Sea, Tayfun Denizer smiles: his rainbow trout, raised in submerged cages, have made him a wealthy man.
'Our exports surged from US$500,000 in 2017 to US$86 million last year, and this is just the beginning,' said Denizer, general manager of Polifish, one of the Black Sea's main producers of what is marketed as 'Turkish salmon'.
In its infancy just a decade ago, production of trout — which in Turkey is almost exclusively farmed for export — has exploded in line with the global demand for salmon, despite criticism of the intensive aquaculture required to farm it.
Last year, the country exported more than 78,000 tonnes of trout raised in its cooler northern Black Sea waters, a figure 16 times higher than in 2018.
And it brought in almost US$498 million for Turkish producers, a number set to increase but is still far from the US$12.8 billion netted by Norwegian salmon and trout giants in the same year.
Russia, which banned Norwegian salmon in 2014 after the West imposed sanctions over its annexation of Crimea, accounts for 74.1 per cent of 'Turkish salmon' exports, followed by Vietnam with 6.0 per cent, and then Belarus, Germany and Japan.
'Spectacular success'
Stale Knudsen, an anthropologist at Norway's Bergen University and a specialist on Black Sea fishing, said Russia offered 'an available market that was easy to access, near Turkey'.
For him, the 'spectacular success' of trout is also down to Turkey's experience and the technology used in farming sea bass and sea bream, a field in which it leads Europe.
The production of trout in Turkey is almost exclusively farmed for export. — AFP pic
Turkish producers have also benefitted from the country's large number of reservoirs where the fish are a raised for several months before being transferred to the Black Sea.
There, the water temperature — which stays below 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Fahrenheit) between October and June — allows the fish to reach 2.5 to 3.0 kilogrammes (5.5-6.6 pounds) by the time they are harvested.
Last, but not least, is the price.
'Our 'salmon' is about 15 to 20 per cent cheaper than Norwegian salmon,' said Ismail Kobya, deputy general manager of Akerko, a sector heavyweight that mainly exports to Japan and Russia.
'The species may be different but in terms of taste, colour and flesh quality, our fish is superior to Norwegian salmon, according to our Japanese clients,' Kobya told AFP at Akerko's headquarters near the northeastern town of Trabzon, where a Turkish flag flies alongside those of Russia and Japan.
Inside, a hundred or so employees in long blue waterproofs, green head coverings and rubber boots behead, gut, clean and debone trout that has an Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification for responsible farming practises.
Disease risks
'Over the last two years, many Turkish producers have moved to get those certifications,' said Knudsen, though he does not believe such labels are always a guarantee of sustainability.
'I think the rationale behind that is not only to become more sustainable, but is more importantly a strategy to try to enter the European markets... where the Norwegians have some kind of control,' he said.
A Turkish salmon processing company in Trabzon, on the Black Sea. — AFP pic
In a 2024 study, researchers from a Turkish public institute raised concerns that 'the rapid growth of the trout farming sector... led to an uncontrolled decline in the survival rate' of the fish.
Pointing to the 'spread of diseases' and 'improper breeding management', the researchers found that nearly 70 percent of the trout were dying prematurely.
Polifish, which also has an ASC certification, acknowledged a mortality rate of around 50 per cent of their fish stocks, predominantly in the reservoirs.
'When the fish are small, their immune systems aren't fully working,' said its deputy general manager Talha Altun.
Akerko for its part claims to have 'reached a stage where we have almost no disease'.
'In our Black Sea cages, the mortality rate is lower than five percent, but these are farming operations and anything can happen,' Kobya said.
'Fake fish'
Visible from the shore, the fish farms have attracted the wrath of local fishermen worried about the cages, which have a 50-metre (165-foot) diameter, being set up where they cast their nets to catch anchovy, mackerel and bonito.
This aerial picture taken in Trabzon on June 11, 2025, shows workers harvesting Turkish salmons from their farming cages off the Vakifkebir shores in the Black Sea. — AFP pic
Mustafa Kuru, head of a local fishermen's union, is a vocal opponent of a farming project that has been set up in his fishing zone just 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the Georgian border.
'The cages block the movement of the fish and what happens then? The fish start leaving the area,' he said, accusing the trout farmers of pumping chemicals into their 'fake fish'.
He said a lack of fish stocks in the area had already forced two boats from his port to cast their nets much further afield — off the western coast of Africa.
'If the fish leave, our boats will end up going to rack and ruin in our ports,' he warned. — AFP
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Malay Mail
7 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Would you like some ‘Turkish salmon'?: The Black Sea's new rose-coloured gold
ISTANBUL, June 21 — Sitting in his spacious office with a view of the Black Sea, Tayfun Denizer smiles: his rainbow trout, raised in submerged cages, have made him a wealthy man. 'Our exports surged from US$500,000 in 2017 to US$86 million last year, and this is just the beginning,' said Denizer, general manager of Polifish, one of the Black Sea's main producers of what is marketed as 'Turkish salmon'. In its infancy just a decade ago, production of trout — which in Turkey is almost exclusively farmed for export — has exploded in line with the global demand for salmon, despite criticism of the intensive aquaculture required to farm it. Last year, the country exported more than 78,000 tonnes of trout raised in its cooler northern Black Sea waters, a figure 16 times higher than in 2018. And it brought in almost US$498 million for Turkish producers, a number set to increase but is still far from the US$12.8 billion netted by Norwegian salmon and trout giants in the same year. Russia, which banned Norwegian salmon in 2014 after the West imposed sanctions over its annexation of Crimea, accounts for 74.1 per cent of 'Turkish salmon' exports, followed by Vietnam with 6.0 per cent, and then Belarus, Germany and Japan. 'Spectacular success' Stale Knudsen, an anthropologist at Norway's Bergen University and a specialist on Black Sea fishing, said Russia offered 'an available market that was easy to access, near Turkey'. For him, the 'spectacular success' of trout is also down to Turkey's experience and the technology used in farming sea bass and sea bream, a field in which it leads Europe. The production of trout in Turkey is almost exclusively farmed for export. — AFP pic Turkish producers have also benefitted from the country's large number of reservoirs where the fish are a raised for several months before being transferred to the Black Sea. There, the water temperature — which stays below 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Fahrenheit) between October and June — allows the fish to reach 2.5 to 3.0 kilogrammes (5.5-6.6 pounds) by the time they are harvested. Last, but not least, is the price. 'Our 'salmon' is about 15 to 20 per cent cheaper than Norwegian salmon,' said Ismail Kobya, deputy general manager of Akerko, a sector heavyweight that mainly exports to Japan and Russia. 'The species may be different but in terms of taste, colour and flesh quality, our fish is superior to Norwegian salmon, according to our Japanese clients,' Kobya told AFP at Akerko's headquarters near the northeastern town of Trabzon, where a Turkish flag flies alongside those of Russia and Japan. Inside, a hundred or so employees in long blue waterproofs, green head coverings and rubber boots behead, gut, clean and debone trout that has an Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification for responsible farming practises. Disease risks 'Over the last two years, many Turkish producers have moved to get those certifications,' said Knudsen, though he does not believe such labels are always a guarantee of sustainability. 'I think the rationale behind that is not only to become more sustainable, but is more importantly a strategy to try to enter the European markets... where the Norwegians have some kind of control,' he said. A Turkish salmon processing company in Trabzon, on the Black Sea. — AFP pic In a 2024 study, researchers from a Turkish public institute raised concerns that 'the rapid growth of the trout farming sector... led to an uncontrolled decline in the survival rate' of the fish. Pointing to the 'spread of diseases' and 'improper breeding management', the researchers found that nearly 70 percent of the trout were dying prematurely. Polifish, which also has an ASC certification, acknowledged a mortality rate of around 50 per cent of their fish stocks, predominantly in the reservoirs. 'When the fish are small, their immune systems aren't fully working,' said its deputy general manager Talha Altun. Akerko for its part claims to have 'reached a stage where we have almost no disease'. 'In our Black Sea cages, the mortality rate is lower than five percent, but these are farming operations and anything can happen,' Kobya said. 'Fake fish' Visible from the shore, the fish farms have attracted the wrath of local fishermen worried about the cages, which have a 50-metre (165-foot) diameter, being set up where they cast their nets to catch anchovy, mackerel and bonito. This aerial picture taken in Trabzon on June 11, 2025, shows workers harvesting Turkish salmons from their farming cages off the Vakifkebir shores in the Black Sea. — AFP pic Mustafa Kuru, head of a local fishermen's union, is a vocal opponent of a farming project that has been set up in his fishing zone just 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the Georgian border. 'The cages block the movement of the fish and what happens then? The fish start leaving the area,' he said, accusing the trout farmers of pumping chemicals into their 'fake fish'. He said a lack of fish stocks in the area had already forced two boats from his port to cast their nets much further afield — off the western coast of Africa. 'If the fish leave, our boats will end up going to rack and ruin in our ports,' he warned. — AFP
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
‘Turkish salmon': the Black Sea's new rose-coloured gold
TURKEY: Sitting in his spacious office with a view of the Black Sea, Tayfun Denizer smiles: his rainbow trout, raised in submerged cages, have made him a wealthy man. 'Our exports surged from $500,000 in 2017 to $86 million last year, and this is just the beginning,' said Denizer, general manager of Polifish, one of the Black Sea's main producers of what is marketed as 'Turkish salmon'. In its infancy just a decade ago, production of trout -- which in Turkey is almost exclusively farmed for export -- has exploded in line with the global demand for salmon, despite criticism of the intensive aquaculture required to farm it. Last year, the country exported more than 78,000 tonnes of trout raised in its cooler northern Black Sea waters, a figure 16 times higher than in 2018. And it brought in almost $498 million for Turkish producers, a number set to increase but is still far from the $12.8 billion netted by Norwegian salmon and trout giants in the same year. Russia, which banned Norwegian salmon in 2014 after the West imposed sanctions over its annexation of Crimea, accounts for 74.1 percent of 'Turkish salmon' exports, followed by Vietnam with 6.0 percent, and then Belarus, Germany and Japan. - 'Spectacular success' - Stale Knudsen, an anthropologist at Norway's Bergen University and a specialist on Black Sea fishing, said Russia offered 'an available market that was easy to access, near Turkey'. For him, the 'spectacular success' of trout is also down to Turkey's experience and the technology used in farming sea bass and sea bream, a field in which it leads Europe. Turkish producers have also benefitted from the country's large number of reservoirs where the fish are a raised for several months before being transferred to the Black Sea. There, the water temperature -- which stays below 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Fahrenheit) between October and June -- allows the fish to reach 2.5 to 3.0 kilogrammes (5.5-6.6 pounds) by the time they are harvested. Last, but not least, is the price. 'Our 'salmon' is about 15 to 20 percent cheaper than Norwegian salmon,' said Ismail Kobya, deputy general manager of Akerko, a sector heavyweight that mainly exports to Japan and Russia. 'The species may be different but in terms of taste, colour and flesh quality, our fish is superior to Norwegian salmon, according to our Japanese clients,' Kobya told AFP at Akerko's headquarters near the northeastern town of Trabzon, where a Turkish flag flies alongside those of Russia and Japan. Inside, a hundred or so employees in long blue waterproofs, green head coverings and rubber boots behead, gut, clean and debone trout that has an Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification for responsible farming practises. - Disease risks - 'Over the last two years, many Turkish producers have moved to get those certifications,' said Knudsen, though he does not believe such labels are always a guarantee of sustainability. 'I think the rationale behind that is not only to become more sustainable, but is more importantly a strategy to try to enter the European markets... where the Norwegians have some kind of control,' he said. In a 2024 study, researchers from a Turkish public institute raised concerns that 'the rapid growth of the trout farming sector... led to an uncontrolled decline in the survival rate' of the fish. Pointing to the 'spread of diseases' and 'improper breeding management', the researchers found that nearly 70 percent of the trout were dying prematurely. Polifish, which also has an ASC certification, acknowledged a mortality rate of around 50 percent of their fish stocks, predominantly in the reservoirs. 'When the fish are small, their immune systems aren't fully working,' said its deputy general manager Talha Altun. Akerko for its part claims to have 'reached a stage where we have almost no disease'. 'In our Black Sea cages, the mortality rate is lower than five percent, but these are farming operations and anything can happen,' Kobya said. - 'Fake fish' - Visible from the shore, the fish farms have attracted the wrath of local fishermen worried about the cages, which have a 50-metre (165-foot) diameter, being set up where they cast their nets to catch anchovy, mackerel and bonito. Mustafa Kuru, head of a local fishermen's union, is a vocal opponent of a farming project that has been set up in his fishing zone just 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the Georgian border. 'The cages block the movement of the fish and what happens then? The fish start leaving the area,' he said, accusing the trout farmers of pumping chemicals into their 'fake fish'. He said a lack of fish stocks in the area had already forced two boats from his port to cast their nets much further afield -- off the western coast of Africa. 'If the fish leave, our boats will end up going to rack and ruin in our ports,' he warned.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Malay Mail
Putin dismisses Nato buildup as no threat to Russia, vows more gains in Ukraine
MOSCOW, June 19 — Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that Nato's push to ramp up defence spending was not a 'threat' to Russia, days before the alliance was set to sign-off on a plan to boost its military capacity across Europe. In a late-night press conference, the Russian leader also said his troops would not stop pushing forward in Ukraine and sought to undermine his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. The Western military alliance will hold a crucial summit in The Hague next week to discuss increasing defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, under pressure from US President Donald Trump. Putin has cast his offensive in Ukraine as part of a wider conflict between Russia and US-led Nato, which has been Ukraine's staunchest backer since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022. 'We do not consider any rearmament by Nato to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our own security,' Putin said at a televised press conference in Saint Petersburg. Russia is 'constantly modernising our armed forces and defensive capabilities,' Putin said, adding that it made 'no sense' for Nato to spend more money on arms. Though he conceded higher spending by Nato would create some 'specific' challenges for Russia, he brushed them off. 'We will counter all threats that arise. There is no doubt about that,' Putin added. Kyiv is seeking security guarantees from Nato as part of any deal to end the fighting, more than three years after Russia ordered its full-scale military offensive. Zelensky meeting? Moscow has shown little willingness to back down, with Putin saying today that Russia had the 'strategic advantage' on the battlefield. 'Our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact. Every day, more or less, but every day they go forward. And the advance will continue,' he said. Putin also sought to justify his three-year campaign against Ukraine, questioned Zelensky's legitimacy and dismissed civilian deaths from Russia's daily aerial attacks. He said he was ready to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, but only during a 'final phase' of negotiations on ending the three-year conflict. He also suggested Zelensky had no right to sign a peace agreement given his five-year mandate had expired, a notion Kyiv has dismissed as baseless propaganda. 'We need to find a solution that would not only put an end to the current conflict, but also create conditions that would prevent similar situations from recurring in the long term,' Putin said. 'I am ready to meet with everyone, including Zelensky. That is not the issue — if the Ukrainian state trusts someone in particular to conduct negotiations, for God's sake, it can be Zelensky,' the Russian leader said. 'We don't care who negotiates, even if it is the current head of the regime,' Putin said. But he added that this would only happen at a 'final phase, so as not to sit there and divide things up endlessly, but to put an end to it.' Putin has rejected Zelensky's calls for a face-to-face meeting to agree a peace deal. Moscow has also rejected proposals for a full and unconditional ceasefire, and outlined a raft of hardline peace demands — including that Kyiv cede more territory and renounce Western military support. Kyiv has dismissed them as 'ultimatums' and accused Moscow of deliberately sabotaging peace efforts to prolong the conflict. Russia has escalated its aerial attacks on Ukraine amid the stalled talks. Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital killed at least 28 people yesterday, Kyiv said. Despite widespread evidence of massive civilian deaths amid the campaign and the destruction of apartments, schools, hospitals and other sites, Putin today claimed that his forces did not target civilian areas. Hours earlier, AFP journalists in Kyiv had watched rescuers carry body bags with victims out of a destroyed apartment block across piles of debris. — AFP
