2026-2027 Fishing Season Guide: Prohibitions, Quotas, and Regulatory Requirements

The 2026-2027 fishing season represents far more than the date on which vessels may put to sea. Rules extending from the species to be caught and the gear to be used, to the vessel’s operating area and the landing of the catch, have direct legal consequences for fishers, points of sale, and consumers. Preparations for the new season therefore require the general calendar to be considered together with quota, permit, monitoring, and documentation obligations.

When Does the 2026-2027 Fishing Season Begin? Fishing Calendar by Sea

The principal framework for commercial fishing is laid down in Communiqué No. 6/1 on the Regulation of Commercial Fisheries, which is in force from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2028. The Communiqué prescribes different closed seasons according to the sea and the fishing gear concerned.

Accordingly, the general opening dates for the 2026-2027 season for industrial-scale purse-seine and trawl fishing are as follows:

• In the Mediterranean, the closed season runs from 15 April to 15 September, so the season begins on 16 September 2026.
• In the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Aegean Sea, the closed season running from 15 April to 31 August ends at the close of 31 August 2026. The new season opens on 1 September 2026.

These dates do not mean that every fishing activity becomes permissible on the same day. Small-scale coastal fisheries, and fishing with gillnets, longlines, or other methods, may be subject to their own rules on species, area, depth, gear, and season. The statement that ‘the fishing season has opened’ must therefore not be interpreted as meaning that every species may be caught everywhere and by every method.

Fishing Compliance: 5 Rules Beyond the Seasonal Calendar

The calendar alone does not establish whether fishing is lawful. On a given date, one species may be open while another is subject to quota or size, weight, or area restrictions. Gear permitted offshore may be prohibited near the coast.

Before the season, five matters must be checked together:

1. Technical compliance of the net or other fishing gear
2. Depth, distance, or coordinate restrictions in the operating area
3. Any prohibition, quota, or minimum-size rule for the target species
4. Completion of vessel and fisher permits, licences, and monitoring obligations
5. Additional measures in current Ministry and provincial agriculture and forestry directorate announcements

New measures may be introduced during the season because of climatic conditions, stock status, or quota uptake. Current announcements should therefore be monitored throughout operations, not checked only once at the season’s outset.

New Rules and Restrictions under the 2026-2027 Fisheries Communiqué

Early Atlantic Bonito Opening for Small-Scale Coastal Fishers

In 2026, an important exception was introduced for small-scale fishers using gillnets to target Atlantic bonito (palamut and torik): the season opened on 15 August 2026, 15 days before the general date.

The exception does not cover all commercial vessels or gear. It applies only to the specified fishers, fish, and gillnet method; purse seiners and vessels using other gear do not qualify automatically.

The measure aims to help small-scale coastal fishers benefit more effectively from migrating Atlantic bonito shoals. It does not remove minimum-size, net, area, or documentation requirements.

Mandatory BAGİS Devices: Vessels and Obligations

BAGİS, the Fishing Vessel Monitoring System, tracks fishing activity through location, time, and movement data. From 1 September 2026, Ministry-required monitoring and recording devices must remain operational on vessels using beam trawls (algarna), beach seines (manyat), or dredges (dreç); harvesting fishery products by diving; or conducting commercial recreational fishing tourism.

Carrying the device is insufficient: it must operate throughout the activity. Switching it off, blocking its signal, or impairing record integrity may breach the legislation. If a technical fault occurs, those responsible for the vessel must follow the competent authority’s notification and movement procedure.

The separate 2026 project to install or renew devices on fishing vessels 19 metres or longer must not be confused with this obligation for specified activities. Vessel owners should separately check the installation programme for the vessel’s length and the requirements arising from its fishing method.

2026-2027 Turbot Quota, Permits, and Transport Documents

In 2026-2027, turbot fishing is subject to special quotas and permits in addition to the general calendar. The total quota for the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Istanbul and Dardanelles Straits is 529 tonnes. The period runs from 16 June 2026 to 14 April 2027.

Turbot-fishing vessels must hold the relevant permit and land their catches at designated landing points. Bottom-trawl fishing for turbot is permitted from 1 September 2026 to 14 April 2027.

If the quota is reached before 14 April 2027, fishing may end early; time remaining in the calendar does not permit fishing after the quota is exhausted. From 1 September 2026, a Turbot Transport and Distribution Document is also required for covered transport and distribution operations.

Quota monitoring extends beyond activity at sea: the quantity and movement of landed products, and their passage through the sales chain, must also be traceable.

Anchovy and Purse-Seine Fishing: Black Sea and Sea of Marmara Limits

Purse-seine fishing in the Black Sea is subject to seasonal depth limits. It is prohibited in waters shallower than 18 metres from 1 September to 15 December 2026, and shallower than 24 metres from 16 December 2026 to 14 April 2027.

The depth rule applies to the entire area in which the net is set and the fishing operation conducted, not only the vessel’s position at a given moment. Near the shore, position records, electronic monitoring data, and the actual fishing ground may be examined together.

European anchovy may be fished with purse seines in the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea between 15.00 and 09.00, with a permit. The Ministry sets the season’s total quota, vessel allocations, and implementation rules; the previous season’s quota must not be relied upon.

Before fishing, the current allocation list, permit validity, hours, landing points, and transport documents should be checked. Activity must cease once the quota is reached or the Ministry stops fishing, even if the general season continues.

Marking Rules for Gillnets and Longlines

Gillnets and longlines left at sea must be visible and identifiable, with a flag by day and a lighted buoy by night.

Marking identifies the user during inspection and also supports navigation safety, prevents damage to nets, and reduces collision risk at sea.

A missing, invisible, or incorrectly positioned flag or lighted buoy may constitute a breach even if the gear itself is compliant. Before the season, fishers should check both mesh size and marking equipment.

Fishery Product Traceability: Landing Points and Origin Documents

Legality does not end when the vessel returns to port. Transport and origin documents may be required when catches are landed or moved to the first point of sale, a fish market, a cold-storage facility, or a processing facility.

For quota species, documentation remains mandatory even for small consignments. The species, quantity, catch location, catching vessel, landing point, and subsequent movements must be verifiable through the record chain.

Any mismatch between the documents and the consignment may expose the fisher, carrier, and receiving business to risk. Buyers should check the invoice and any required transport, origin, quota, or distribution documents.

Traceability supports both action against illegal fishing and food safety and consumer protection. Records allow the catch area and method to be established retrospectively.

Pre-Season Compliance Checklist for Fishing Vessels

A thorough check before putting to sea can significantly reduce administrative and commercial losses during the season. It should cover at least:

• Flags and lighted buoys for gillnets and longlines
• Landing points and transport, origin, and distribution documents
• BAGİS duties based on vessel length, activity, and fishing method
• Species-specific quotas, allocations, minimum sizes, and time limits
• Expiry dates of the vessel licence, fishing permits, and crew documents
• Current Ministry and provincial agriculture and forestry directorate announcements
• Technical rules for mesh size, net length, hooks, dredges, beam trawls, or other gear
• Operation of monitoring and recording devices, signal transmission, and fault reporting
• Fishing-ground restrictions on depth, distance from shore, coordinates, and local areas

Vessels operating in more than one sea or province should review each area’s local decisions separately; a rule applicable in one fishing ground may not apply in another.

2026 Recreational Fishing: Spearfishing and Certificates

Recreational fishing follows rules separate from the commercial purse-seine and trawl calendar. A commercial closure does not necessarily prohibit all recreational fishing, and a commercial opening does not make every recreational method permissible.

Under Communiqué No. 6/2 on the Regulation of Recreational Fisheries, recreational fishers must check the species, catch limit, minimum size, gear, protected-area, and seasonal rules.

From 1 January 2026, recreational speargun fishers must obtain a Recreational Fishing Certificate specifying the diving method. The certificate does not remove restrictions on area, species, time, or safety.

Vessels engaged in commercial recreational fishing tourism must also account for the monitoring and recording-device duty beginning on 1 September 2026, in addition to operating permits.

Penalties for Illegal and Non-Compliant Fishing: Administrative Fines, Licence Revocation, and Confiscation

Breaches of fisheries legislation may result in more than an administrative fine. Depending on the nature and recurrence of the breach, the licence may be suspended or revoked, caught products may be confiscated, fishing gear may be taken into custody, and measures may be imposed in relation to the means used to carry out the activity.

Fishing in an unauthorized area, operating during a closed season, exceeding a quota, breaching minimum-size rules, failing to operate a monitoring device, or issuing inaccurate documentation may produce different legal consequences. The same act may be assessed separately in respect of the vessel owner, licence holder, master, carrier, or business accepting the product.

Monitoring systems and electronic records make it possible to identify breaches not only during a physical inspection at sea but also through subsequent data analysis. Maintaining records in accordance with the legislation is therefore also important to a business’s ability to present a defence and evidence.

Responsibility of Restaurants and Retailers to Check Minimum Fish Sizes and Documentation

The opening of the fishing season does not automatically mean that every product offered for sale complies with the legislation. Consumers, restaurants, retailers, and wholesalers must pay particular attention to the species, minimum size, and origin of a product.

Minimum-size limits are intended to protect the continuity of stocks by allowing fish to reproduce at least once. Demand for undersized products may enable illegal fishing to remain economically viable.

Points of sale should check the documentation supplied by their suppliers, verify the origin of species subject to quotas or special permits, and ensure that the documentation corresponds to the product. Consumers can also contribute to sustainable fisheries by refraining from buying unusually small fish or products of unexplained origin.

Enter the New Season Legally Prepared with Esenyel Partners

Compliance with the general calendar alone is not sufficient during the 2026-2027 fishing season. A shortcoming in the quota, permit, fishing-gear, BAGİS, landing, or documentation requirements may lead to the suspension of fishing, loss of products, and administrative sanctions.

Esenyel Partners provides legal support to fishing vessel owners, fisheries businesses, carriers, and investors in the sector in assessing their operations’ compliance with current legislation, managing permit procedures, and resolving disputes arising from inspections.

You may contact Esenyel Partners to prepare for the new season within a compliant and predictable legal framework.