Specimens of European hake were collected by a traditional demersal trawl between July 2004 and June 2007 from İzmir Bay, Central Aegean Sea. A total of 2108 individuals were sampled during the study and the female: male sex ratio of the stock was 1:0.89. The length–weight relationship was W = 0.00341L^3.24 (R² = 0.994) for all individuals. A high gonadosomatic index was evident over most of the year but it was minimal from August to October. The estimated age composition was 1–5 years; the length and weight at infinity were calculated as L_∞ = 54.53 cm and W_∞ = 1455.77 g respectively. In addition, growth coefficient was found to be k = 0.315 y⁻¹ and t_o = −0.223 y (R² = 0.99). Total mortality ratio of the stock was calculated as Z = 1.539 y⁻¹, while natural and fishing based mortality ratio were estimated as M = 0.579 y⁻¹ and F = 0.959 y⁻¹ respectively, with the exploitation ratio (E) of the stock estimated to be 0.624.

Fisheries and aquaculture are statistically acknowledged to be among the most dangerous occupations. Yet, industrial safety and health precautions against occupational accidents within the sector are not sufficiently implemented in many parts of the world. The present study aims to provide a quantified overview of work accident statistics in the Turkish fisheries and aquaculture industry. This article presents an overview of reported injuries and fatalities in the Turkish fisheries and aquaculture industries from 2006 to 2020. Incident, permanent incapacity, and fatality rates were calculated, and the difference between fisheries and aquaculture was statistically examined. The overall incident, permanent incapacity, and fatality rates were 449.4, 4.7, and 5.7 per 100,000 worker years, respectively, over the 15-year period. With these fatality rates, fisheries and aquaculture are two of the industries with the highest fatality rates among comparable industries in Turkey. Incident rates in fisheries and aquaculture indicated that aquaculture work is more dangerous and risky. The data set includes 25 fatalities and 22 permanent incapacity cases over 15 years and shows an increase in fatality rates and occupational accidents in the last 8 years. present study showed that the quality of data and reporting in the Turkish fisheries and aquaculture industries including occupational illnesses, must be improved in order to be more preventative and to develop efficient safety management in the sector. Incentives for providing thorough data on occupational incidents must be enhanced to improve occupational safety awareness in Turkish fisheries and aquaculture.

Fishing is acknowledged to be the most dangerous and risky occupation in many parts of the world. Hazards and risks can only be determined after a detailed analyze and evaluation in order to reduce them to an acceptable level. In this study, risk assessment of Turkish industrial fishing vessels was argued and applicability of L type matrix method on industrial fishing sector was discussed. 110 danger sources belonging to 37 activities were determined for the risk assessment studies in the fishing vessels. L-type matrix method can easily be used in the fishing sector by its simple and understandable structure, applicability to all sectors, nonemployed engineers in the fishing vessels and eligibility of fishermen’s education level with this methodology. In order to determine the safety level of fisheries in Turkey, which is one of the most hazardous occupation around the world, to develop its current situation and to increase the awareness of fishermen, national projects must be conducted by universities and relevant bodies of the state. Workers of the fishing sector must be informed about risk assessment which is the crucial step of occupational health and safety and risk assessment must be performed in the industrial fishing vessels.

An occurrence of a red cornetfish Fistularia petimba here reported for the first time from the Aegean Sea. On 19 October 2019 four specimens from the Gökova Bay and on 17 November 2019 one specimen from the Güllük Bay, were collected using different fishing gears in the Aegean Sea. This finding shows that F. petimba is rapidly expanding northwards, from the Levantine Sea to the Aegean Sea.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the spatial and bathymetric distribution of demersal trawl discards in the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea. Trawl hauls were performed in the legal trawling areas of the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea (Çanakkale, Foça, Karaburun, Sığacık, Güllük) between 2010 and 2012 by commercial trawlers. Depth of the trawl hauls ranged from 30 m in the south to 450 m in the north. As a result of 311 trawl samples, 200 species belonging to eight taxonomic groups (Porifera, Cnidaria, Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca, Echinodermata, Tunicata, Chordata) were identified. The changes in species composition based on depth and region were determined to be statistically significant. It was found that species composition distinctly changed around 200 m. In a regional assessment it was determined that the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea is divided into three sub-regions, i.e. Çanakkale, Foça-Karaburun-Sığacık and Güllük. The results of similar studies conducted in the Mediterranean were investigated and compared with the findings of this study.