Climate Change, Carbon Footprint, Fisheries: Türkiye

This review provides a comprehensive assessment of the effects of climate change, the concept of carbon footprint, and the Turkish fisheries sector in the context of environmental sustainability. Fossil fuel-based production and consumption models, which have gained momentum since the industrial revolution, have increased greenhouse gas emissions and caused serious disruptions in the global climate system. In this process, carbon footprint has emerged as an important indicator that enables the quantitative monitoring of environmental impacts and serves as a critical tool in the development of environmental sustainability policies by measuring individual or sectoral greenhouse gas emissions. As of 2020, the global annual CO₂ equivalent greenhouse gas emissions from fisheries activities amounted to 64 million tonnes, while the emissions from the fisheries sector in Türkiye, which includes fisheries and aquaculture activities, were estimated at 59,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. The fisheries sector in Türkiye is among the sectors that are vulnerable to climate change however, there are only a limited number of scientific studies on carbon footprint, which is an important tool for monitoring environmental impacts. The “Climate Law” was published in the Official Gazette on July 9, 2025 in Türkiye. The law introduces the obligation for businesses that carry out activities that directly cause greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore for the fisheries sector, to obtain greenhouse gas emission permits in order to carry out these activities. In this study, the effects of international strategies developed within the framework of the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement on the Turkish fisheries sector were discussed, and it was concluded that strategies should be developed to monitor and reduce emissions, emphasising the need to transition to sustainable and low-emission production models.