Turkey has a big potential for aquaculture due to its long coast line and abundance of rivers and lakes, said Hayri Deniz, Kilic Seafood, Turkey, during his presentation at the conference.
The country's aquaculture production has increased over the past decade by 247 per cent and, in value terms, it is worth more than the catch sector.
Trout, sea bass and sea bream are the main species produced by the 2,291 farms in the country.
Although Turkey's aquaculture sector has seen rapid growth, it has faced problems which it has, and still is, working to overcome.
In response to the conflicts that mariculture faced with other coastal users, such as tourism, the government set up zonal management and the National Marine Aquaculture Development Plan.
In conclusion, Mr Deniz stated that the country aims to increase aquaculture production to 500,000 by 2023.
