Fishing Boat – ATAK and the Bounty of Tuna Fresh from the Boat

The local fishing boat ATAK ranges far and wide for its daily catch. Today, in mid-July, I am buying my Tuna for the freezer. At 11.00 they tie-up next to Hastane St (on the entrance to the Kordon car park, near to Sesa Park hotel and the 'balik ekmek' boat) after a five hour trip back from their fishing off the coast at Dalaman.

The ATAK fishes with nets, rather than line.

They are selling Tuna in various sizes and the smallest at YTL 20 (£8.50). At no extra cost, they cut it into 10 steaks each around half kilo.

The next size up of Tuna goes for YTL 25.

The boat did a brisk trade as the locals snapped up the bargain fish.

Although ATAK is based in Fethiye, they spend part of the year in Istanbul.

The picture shows the skipper holding my 35YTL fish just before he filleted and divided it into steaks. One steak was on the grill by mid-day and the rest are in the freezer. It does not come fresher, or cheaper than this unless you catch them yourself.

The skipper tells me Tuna fishing is nearly over, and that swordfish can be expected next.  Interestingly they don't fish during the full moon.