Dear All, Apologies for cross posting. I would like to inform you that the new paper on estimates of cetacean by-catch in the turbot fishery on the Turkish Western Black Sea Coast has been published in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. The pdf copy is available online via the following link. Tonay, A.M. 2016. Estimates of cetacean by-catch in the turbot fishery on the Turkish Western Black Sea Coast in 2007 and 2008. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. doi: 10.1017/S0025315416000060 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0025315416000060> http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0025315416000060 Abstract This is the first study estimating cetacean by-catch in the Turkish western Black Sea turbot fishery. One turbot fishing boat was observed during two fishing seasons, from April through July 2007 and April through mid-September 2008. During this time, 24 harbour porpoises and one bottlenose dolphin were caught in turbot trammel nets. The by-catch rate was found to be 0.18 for harbour porpoise and 0.01 for bottlenose dolphin individuals per kilometre in 2007, and 0.19 for harbour porpoise individuals in 2008. It is estimated that the total numbers of harbour porpoises killed in the Turkish western Black Sea during the legal fishing period (April and July) were 167 ± 153 (CV: 0.92) in 2007 and 329 ± 220 (CV: 0.67) in 2008, and the number killed during both legal and illegal periods of turbot fishing were 2011 ± 742 (CV: 0.37) in 2007 and 2294 ± 806 (CV: 0.35) in 2008. The estimated range of harbour porpoise by-catch in the turbot fishery on the Turkish western Black Sea coast is between these two estimates. The by-caught harbour porpoises were between 1-8 years of age. About half of them were within the age range of 4 (26%) and 5 (21%) years old, and 78% were physically immature individuals. Turbot fishing carried out with bottom nets, especially in May and June, when turbot fishing is banned, is a threat to the sustainability of harbour porpoise stocks. Alternatively, pdf requests can be sent to atonay@istanbul.edu.tr Regards Arda Arda M. TONAY Ph.D Faculty of Fisheries, İstanbul University Marine Biology Dep. Ordu Cad. No:200 Laleli, 34480 İstanbul, Turkey Tel: +90 212 455 5700/16434 Fax: +90 212 514 0379 <mailto:atonay@istanbul.edu.tr> atonay@istanbul.edu.tr <http://suurunleri.istanbul.edu.tr/> http://suurunleri.istanbul.edu.tr/ Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV) P.O. Box 10 Beykoz, İstanbul, Turkey Tel: +90 216 424 0772 Fax: +90 216 424 0771