Trawl fishing season has officially commenced in the Black Sea and the waters are now abound with fishermen looking for the big catch. A ceremony at Metropolitan Municipality Fishing Port in Samsun celebrated the arrival of the new fishing season. Speaking during the ceremony, Samsun Governor İbrahim Şahin stated that Samsun is the top fishing province in Turkey in terms of the number of fish caught and processed. Highlighting that Samsun is indeed a major fishing city, Şahin said, "this fact is not known by many. We need to promote this feature of our city throughout Turkey. We have turned our backs to the sea; in fact, we need to do otherwise." Şahin also said they are planning to organize a workshop to introduce Samsun's fishing capacity to everybody. "I wish a fruitful season to all fishermen," Şahin added. Atıf Malkoç, the president of the Samsun Fisheries Cooperatives Union, underscored that the fishing sector has been suffering some difficulties and continued, "Samsun is the city which catches the most fish in Turkey; however, due to the fishing bans imposed, the fishing sector is almost finished. Because of the severe bans imposed in Turkey, the fish that cannot be caught in Turkey are caught in Georgia and Abkhazia. Turkish authorities should revise these regulations as soon as possible."

Following the ceremony, Governor Şahin set sail with a trawl boat and cast a net to symbolize the new trawl fishing season.