Give someone a fish, they’ll eat for a day. Restore someone’s bay, they’ll eat for the rest of their life.
My name is Zafer Kizilkaya. I am a marine conservationist and underwater photographer. I would like to tell you about a project I worked on that is particularly close to my heart: the restoration of Gökova bay.
Thirteen years ago, this large bay, a traditional fishing spot in southwestern Turkey, was in horrific condition. The bay had been so overfished, it had the lowest amount of fish per square meter in the entire Mediterranean basin. When I went diving there, I saw an underwater desert. On top of that, the place was littered with discarded fishing gear, and schools of invasive Rabbitfish (Siganus) were destroying the endemic aquatic vegetation. Nature was so degraded, it was affecting the fishing community’s income, thereby hurting the local economy.
Restoring nature puts food on the table
My name is Zafer Kizilkaya. I am a marine conservationist and underwater photographer. I would like to tell you about a project I worked on that is particularly close to my heart: the restoration of Gökova bay.
Thirteen years ago, this large bay, a traditional fishing spot in southwestern Turkey, was in horrific condition. The bay had been so overfished, it had the lowest amount of fish per square meter in the entire Mediterranean basin. When I went diving there, I saw an underwater desert. On top of that, the place was littered with discarded fishing gear, and schools of invasive Rabbitfish (Siganus) were destroying the endemic aquatic vegetation. Nature was so degraded, it was affecting the fishing community’s income, thereby hurting the local economy.
Restoring nature puts food on the table