Beyşehir Lake (Isparta-Konya, Turkey) Fishing from Past to Present and Situation Analysis

Abstract

Beyşehir Lake, located in one of the important karstic discharge basins of the Anatolian Plate, is Turkey's largest freshwater lake with a surface area of 703 km2, and is a very important wetland in terms of bio-ecological, socio-economic and cultural aspects. Although the first records on Beyşehir Lake fishery date back to the 1910’s, the first scientific findings on fisheries began in the 1950’s. Although it is very difficult to reach reliable data about the fishery of Lake Beyşehir, the main processes that have been effective on fishing from the 1950s to the present are: i) used fishing gear and methods, ii) changes in the trophic structure of the lake, iii) foreign fauna elements entering the lake, iv) the lake water level changes, v) fishermen's socio-economic and awareness level, vi) fisheries management strategies. The catch yield in the lake, which was 3 kg/ha in the 1950s, was determined as 9.54 kg/ha in 2020. While there have been significant changes in the fauna in the intervening time, it has been determined that there has been a significant increase in the number of fishermen with the increasing amount of catch. Today, 21 fish species live in the lake, which is at mesotrophic-eutrophic level today, 75.68% of the 885,739 kg catch caught in the lake, according to the average of 2019-2020, is Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio), 21.34% is pike perch (Sander lucioperca) and 2.98% is carp (Cyprinus carpio). According to the data of 2020, it has been determined that 385 hunters actively hunting in the lake have gained 8250 kg/year hunting and 8250 TL/year income level. As another result of this study, it was concluded that the biggest factor on the fishing ecosystem of Lake Beyşehir is untimely and excessive fishing.