Aegean fishermen struggle to find crew members despite high wages
İZMİR
Fishermen along Türkiye’s Aegean coast, who supply a significant portion of the country’s fish demand, are facing growing difficulties in finding crew members — a workforce essential to keeping their boats operating efficiently and safely.
Crew members, apart from the captain and assistants, handle a range of tasks aboard fishing vessels, from setting routes and cleaning to maintaining equipment. They play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of the fishing industry.
In Türkiye, the fishing season typically runs from September to April, with an annual fishing ban enforced between mid-April and Sept. 1 to protect fish stocks.
During these months, fishing crews spend nearly every available day at sea.
Their workdays usually begin in the evening, as they cast nets, monitor catches and later sort and load the fish onto trucks for delivery once back at the harbor.
Between trips, they clean and maintain the vessels and prepare nets for the next outing.
However, Aegean fishermen say it is becoming increasingly difficult each year to find and retain qualified crew members.
"Existing crews are almost like football players, they keep transferring to other boats,” said Mehmet Aksoy, vice president of a union of marine product producers, noting that the shortage of skilled labor has become one of the industry’s biggest challenges.
Aksoy said crews are indispensable to fishing operations and that wages have reached attractive levels.
“We pay three to four times the minimum wage [$526], plus provide three meals a day, accommodation on board and a share of the season’s profits,” he said. “But young people prefer office jobs instead of working at sea. We’re now working on plans to open vocational schools to train new crew members.”
Mustafa Baran, another local fisherman, said fishing has been a family tradition for generations, but that it is getting harder to find skilled workers.
“Even when we find people, they lack experience. We have to train them ourselves,” he said. “Salaries have reached around 80,000 Turkish Liras [$1,906] a month, yet we still can’t find anyone willing to work.”
Hüseyin Cambaz, who has been a purse seiner for 50 years, echoed the concern, saying the problem is not limited to the Aegean region.
“Without a crew, the boat is useless,” he said. “Young people don’t want to work on board, even though we pay high wages, around 80,000 liras, with no expenses for food or accommodation.”
Salih Peşmen, who has worked as a crew member for three decades, acknowledged the demanding nature of the job but said pay levels have risen significantly.
“It’s tough work, but wages now range from 70,000 to 100,000 liras [$1,668 to $2,382],” he said.
