UTKU KURAN
PHOTOGRAPHY
Save the bay_ 2025
Located in the Eastern Mediterranean, Gökova Bay is one of the largest bays in Türkiye. The bay is located where the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea meet.
Gökova's marine area spans 1,851 square kilometers with red pine forests on land and the rich biodiversity of marine life. 73% of the fish species in Turkish waters can be found in Gökova Bay.
It is home to endangered marine species such as the Mediterranean monk seal, sandbar sharks and seagrass meadows(Posidonia Ocenica).
On land, nutrient-rich freshwater inflows significantly contribute to marine life. Azmak Creek, often described as a natural aquarium, flows into the sea, carrying alluvial deposits that create a sandy seafloor in the shallows.
This process enhances fish spawning productivity and attracts larger fish species. These interconnected ecosystems play a crucial role not only in preserving biodiversity and mitigating the effects of climate change but also in sustaining the livelihoods of local communities.
Local coastal communities in Gökova are primarily composed of small-scale fishers. In addition to the ecological impacts, overfishing combined with centralized fisheries management, has also negatively affect the well-being of these communities, who depend on marine resources for their livelihoods.
​
Overexploitation of marine resources, which has intensified since the early 2000s in the bay, not only threatens the bay's ecological balance but also jeopardizes the livelihoods of coastal communities, leading to declining incomes among small-scale fishers.​ For instance, the drastic reduction in grouper and shrimp populations—once accounting for 40% of fishers' income—has exacerbated poverty within the small-scale fishing communities in Gökova.
​
Small-scale fishing is both a socio-cultural tradition and a vital socio-economic pillar in Gökova Bay. However, current overfishing practices with centralistic management approaches undermine the well-being of local small-scale fisheries.
Overexploitation of the resources combined with illegal fishing practices depleting local fish stocks, degrading marine habitats. In Gökova industrial fishing activities primarily done by pursue seiners and bottom-trawling.
These practices use destructive fishing gear that destroys sea bottom-dwelling species, such as sea grass meadows, crabs or mussels. On the other hand, small-scale fisheries discard little to no fish and do not substantially impact benthic communities, which is notably different from industrial fishing. ​
To ensure the continuity of traditional, sustainable small-scale fishing for future generations, it is essential that small-scale fishers in Gökova perceive themselves as resource owners. But how do small-scale fishers view their role as resource owners?
​
This perception depends on several factors, with one of the most crucial being the need for resource users to establish clear boundaries. A key strategy for achieving this is the designation of Marine Protected Area (MPA), particularly those that include No-Fishing Zones (NFZs).
​
In Gökova, the boundaries of the MPA and its NFZs—where large-scale fishing is prohibited since 2012—were determined through a collaborative effort with local fishers, state authorities, conservationists, and scientists. This process marked the first implementation of a cooperative management (co-management) governance approach in a marine area in Türkiye.
​​
However, effective enforcement and active monitoring with proper management are critical conditions to achieve the effectiveness of protected areas. At this point, local monitoring has been critical to maintaining the active conservation in Gökova. By introducing the community-based marine ranger system in 2013, a local non-governmental organization, Akdeniz Koruma Dernegi (AKD) currently monitors the area day-to-day activities.​
​
​
Although establishing marine protected area incorporating with no-fishing zones and implementing an active patrolling system in Gökova have been effective community-based conservation practices, the challenges persist in the bay.
To co-management procedure to gain momentum and small-scale fishers perceive themselves as owners of the resources, devolving power to local resource users and long-term consistent cooperation among stakeholders is significant at local, regional and national levels.
Since fishers have historical knowledge of breeding grounds, spawning areas, and the condition of the seabed, their local expertise is crucial for the long-term success of conservation efforts and the effectiveness of adaptive management.
By devolving power to fishers and involving them in decision-making processes, conservation initiatives with decentralized management can become more adaptive and grounded in real-world conditions. This ensures that management strategies are both ecologically effective and socially accepted.
Further, involving fishers in decision making fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility over resources, encouraging greater compliance with regulations and long-term commitment to protecting marine resources.
The Gökova case shows that with effective management, protected marine areas have the ability to increase the resilient social-ecological systems. However, the rules musts be enforced and long-term collaboration persist among stakeholders.
Therefore insights from this case are not only crucial for marine policy development in Türkiye but also offer guidance for international efforts toward effective enforcement in MPAs, certain potential barriers, challenges and opportunities for implementing more equitable and sustainable fisheries management systems. These together can be achieved with consistent implementation of localized approaches in more formal structures which should be embraced by policymakers, NGOs, fishers and public managers.
​