While bonito, anchovy and mackerel were the most consumed fish among Istanbul citizens last year, bonito has taken the throne from anchovy, according to the data compiled.
Considering the information received by the Anadolu Agency (AA) from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), 99 aquatic products were brought to the Gürpınar Fisheries Market last year.
While 45,081 tons of aquatic products were produced in 2021, this figure increased to 60,736 tons year-over-year. In 2022, bonito, anchovy, horse mackerel and bluefish were the sorts of fish generally the most delivered to the market.
While anchovy was one of the most purchased products in 2021, the situation changed in 2022 as bonito consumption increased approximately 19 times, thus surpassing anchovy. While 1,023 tons of acorns were brought to the market in 2021, this figure rose to 19,832 tons in 2022. Hence the top five products in the last year were bonito, anchovy, horse mackerel, bluefish and whiting, respectively.
Anchovy (or in Turkish "hamsi") was the second most consumed seafood product after bonito with 16,556 tons of anchovy delivered to the market. Anchovy was followed by bluefish with 6,828 tons, haddock with 1,949 tons, sea bream with 1,488 tons and sea bass with 1,204 tons.
When we look at the average sales of the products through the year, lobster, which was sold at TL 936 (around $49.85) per kilo, was the seafood product with the highest price offered to customers. Crabs followed the lobster with an average price of TL 843 and the "sinarit" fish with a price of TL 376.
