Characterization of penalties implemented within the framework of Fisheries Law in the Mediterranean region of Turkey and creating a decision support system

This study aimed to characterize violations made under Fisheries Law No. 1380 in the Mediterranean coasts of Turkey and to develop a decision support system (DSS) for addressing these violations. To this end, the study analyzed aquaculture violations in terms of fishing gear, region, season, region x season interaction, and fishing gear x region x season interaction, taking into account the frequency and administrative fines associated with each violation. The data used in this study contain was logged fishing activities against Fisheries Law No. 1380 within the scope of inspection activities carried out by the Coast Guard Command between Fırnaz Bay in Antalya-Kaş and the coasts of Hatay-Yayladağı Denizgören in 2014. During the study period, a total of 491 fisheries violations were recorded, resulting in administrative fines of 686 611 TL ($312 095) in the study area. The Antalya region had the highest number of violations, while the Adana-Mersin region had the highest total administrative fine. Across the studied area, violations with fishing rod were the highest (n= 114) among the other gears, and the most of fishing rod violations were identified in Antalya region with 62.28 percent. The highest total administrative fine resulted from trawl activity (316 591 TL). Purse seine violations were identified most frequently (68%) in the Hatay-Adana region, and they were peaked during the fishing season. While the highest number of violations in terms of region x season interaction was observed in the spring season (13.03%) in the Antalya region, the highest administrative fines were imposed in the Adana-Mersin region in the winter season (28.48%). In the Antalya region, fishing violations (5.5%) were most common in the autumn season, while in the Hatay-Adana region, purse seine violations (5.3%) were most common in the autumn season. In terms of region x fishing gear x season interaction, the remarkable findings were identified as follow: Trawl violations were imposed for highest administrative fines (25.42%) in the winter season in the Adana-Mersin region. In the Antalya region, harpoon violations (5.7%) were most common in the autumn and summer seasons, while in the Adana-Mersin region, trawl violations were most common in the winter season (5.5%). "Association Rules", one of the basic techniques of data mining, was used to form the basis of a decision support system. In this context, a total of 14 meaningful rules were taken into account according to support, trust and leverage values. When these rules are evaluated as a whole, purse seine fishing is concentrated in the Hatay-Adana region and harpoon/angling is concentrated in the Antalya region. In this context, it has emerged that inspection activities should be increased in the Hatay-Adana region for purse seine fishing and in Antalya region for harpoon/angling fishing. As a result, it is mandatory to increase administrative fines in the fight against illegal fishing. Additionally, it is recommended to integrate MCS components into the fisheries management approach within the DSS and transition fishing activities towards an ecologically-based management approach.