PAKISTAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, cilt.46, sa.4, ss.921-926, 2014 (SCI-Expanded)
This study was carried out during the 2002-2003 fishing season (September 2002- April 2003) off the Karatas Coasts located at the entrance of the Iskenderun Bay. Sampling was conducted in monthly intervals through the stations chosen from 0-20, 20-50 and 50-100m depth ranges. An evaluation for the fishing season was done by taking into account Mullus barbatus and Upeneus port among the species which made up the main catch. At the end of this evaluation we found that if the beginning of the fishing season along the Northeastern Coasts of Turkey was delayed from September to October, the increase in the TW of the stock of M. barbatus and U. port would be 15.05% and 82.87% in turn; if it was delayed until November the above mentioned increases were calculated at the level of 82.87% and 83.36% respectively. From the commercial point of view, by shifting the opening of the fishing season to November there would be a 350% increase in the income earned from the species M. barbatus. As a result, we conclude that delaying the fishing season to November instead of September would be better for both the fish stocks and the economy.