Page 167 - 7. State Of Environment Report Of Türkiye

Maritime Safety (DNMS), the largest Emergency Response Centre in Europe, was established in
Tekirdağ, which is located in the north-west of the Marmara Sea, which is the most risky region
in terms of ship traffic, and has extensive logistics facilities.

DNMS operates as the decision support system of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in
order to perform all kinds of tasks such as preparedness, planning, coordination and interven-
tion related to ensuring maritime safety with personnel, equipment, hardware, software and
all necessary infrastructure facilities in our maritime jurisdictions. DNMS, which is the most im-
portant pillar of the project and where all emergency response operations are carried out, acts
as the brain and coordination centre of Türkiye in response to marine pollution and our seas
are protected at the highest level with the stations on our coasts. In addition, in DNMS, which is
designed to be an international training and R&D centre, activities such as providing trainings,
conducting drills, testing and certification of equipment and materials used in response, pollu-
tion modelling and sample analyses related to marine pollution continue.

C.1.3.1.5. Aquaculture Activities

With the “By-law on Environmental Management of Fish Farms Operating in the Seas” publis-
hed in the Official Gazette dated 28 October 2020 and numbered 31288, it is aimed to deter-
mine the sensitive areas where fish farms operating in the seas cannot be established and to
determine the effects of fish farms on the marine environment and to establish procedures and
principles regarding their environmental management.

The By-law provides for the preparation of an environmental management plan to ensure the
environmental management of fish farms operating in the seas. Within this framework, in 2023,
Environmental Management Plans of fish farms that applied to the MoEUCC and have a capacity
of 1,000 tonnes/year or more for fish production/breeding were prepared and a Certificate of
Conformity was issued for 131 fish farms. In addition, monitoring of the marine areas where the
facilities are located is carried out annually.

“Fisheries Law No. 1380”, “By-law on Fisheries” and some communiqués were published in order
to regulate the obligations, limitations and prohibitions related to fisheries in order to ensure
the protection and sustainable operation of fisheries resources by taking into account scientific,
environmental, economic and social issues to be applied in fisheries, to prevent overfishing, to
protect and sustain fisheries stocks.

In this context, the basic policy of Türkiye regarding aquaculture is to operate the resources in a
sustainable manner by considering the balance of protection and utilization of aquaculture pro-
ducts and habitats, and to ensure the security of supply in aquaculture products by developing
aquaculture in our marine and inland waters within this framework.
In order to continue aquaculture activities in Türkiye within the framework of blue growth and
sustainable aquaculture, activities for the protection, development and By-law of aquaculture
areas are continued.

Projections indicate that fishing will not increase in parallel with the decrease in fish stocks,
whereas aquaculture will develop and its share in aquaculture production will increase over the
years. As a matter of fact, similar to the world aquaculture production, while the amount obta-

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