Changes in Turkish fisheries legislation on sole fishing and investigation of temporal and spatial changes in production amount in relation to fisheries legislation

Sole (Solea solea) is a species of high economic value that is caught in our country, especially on the Eastern Mediterranean coast, and is often the subject of small-scale fishing activities. Within the scope of this study, the temporal and spatial situation of sole fisheries in our country was examined using accessible statistics published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) and the microdata set, also sourced by TUIK. In the light of the data obtained, the status of the sole catch according to time, provinces, hunting areas, boat lengths and fishing gear is revealed. In addition, Turkish Fisheries Legislation and the sections of this legislation regarding sole fish were searched and decisions regarding sole fish were determined. The change in the species' catch amount was associated with general fishing theories, and the data obtained was confirmed by face-to-face interviews with fishermen. Thus, the structural characteristics of sole fishing in Türkiye were tried to be determined. Sole fishing began to be included in the fisheries legislation and Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) data in 2000. Sole was reflected in the statistics together with flounder until 2007, and independently of sole since 2007. The catch amount, which reached over 1000 tons between 2007 and 2010, entered a downward trend after 2010, and has varied between 300 and 400 tons in the period until today. Sole fishing is increasing on the Eastern Mediterranean coasts, and gill nets are seen to be used more as fishing tools. In our country, 60% of sole fishing is done by boats smaller than 12 meters. Keywords: Flounder, Solea solea, Turkish fishing legislation