ABSTRACT
Turkey is surrounded by the Black Sea in the North, by the Aegean Sea in the West, and by the Mediterranean in the South. The length of coastline exceeds 8,000 km. Turkey produces about 625,000 tons of seafood annually. The production of molluscan shellfish has reached 25,000 to 30,000 tons annually. A very significant rise in the shellfish demand from abroad, especially from shellfish consuming countries such as Spain and Italy changed the situation. Black mussel is found from Izmir to the Black Sea, all the way to the border with the Soviet Union. It is an abundant species its export is difficult, because mussel consuming countries have a large and established mussel fishery. The hard clam is harvested together with the short necked clam, by the same fishermen. The production and harvest of shellfish from Turkish waters is expanding. Most of the production is exported.
