Faculty of Fisheries is a higher education center in which technologies and know-how are developed on the field of fisheries, aquaculture and processing and provides graduates with a BSc title of ‘Fisheries Engineer’. Principle aims of the faculty are to utilize natural fisheries stock with suitable fishing methods without endangering sustainability, to produce know-how on requirements and supplies (i.e. feeds, diseases etc.) of rapidly growing aquaculture sector, to determine suitable processing technologies as well as to educate and train graduates and post-graduates for the sector.

Our faculty, with its two research centers, well equipped classrooms and laboratories, over 50 academic personnel producing quality publications in reputable journals, is one of the most develop ones in the country situating in a beautiful university campus 10 km north of the city of Adana in the south.

Established as the School of Fisheries in 1985, it has then been converted to become Faculty of Fisheries in 1992. Having three departments; Basic Sciences, Aquaculture and Fishing and Processing Technologies, the faculty gives graduates under one program with title of ‘Fisheries Engineer’ after an education period of 4 years. Besides, faculty has a secondary education program carried out after 5 pm for working students. We also educate post-graduate students at master (2 years) and PhD (3 years) levels.

Fisheries products (fish, shellfish, mollusk and algae) have increasingly been taking place among the Turkish dishes for the last 25-30 years. Wild catch production, which dramatically increased until 1980, has reach to its peak despite intensified fishing pressure. In spite of being a young sector, aquaculture production is rapidly growing and meeting the demand of seafood in the country. In 1974, aquaculture production was 2000 tons, whereas recently this figure amounted to 80.000 tons (in only 30 years) and this trend is expected to continue. Yet, when rich marine and freshwater sources are taken into account, we are still underutilizing our stocks by either fisheries and/or aquaculture.

Developing fisheries and aquaculture sector has brought up many problems with it; modernized fishing gears and more effective fishing methods has increased fishing pressure upon stocks, over-exploitation and water pollution has lead to decline of fisheries in almost every fishing area. In addition, inshore cage fish farming in the Aegean region has been in conflict with tourism sector and this problem appears to have difficult solution. Along with increased fish production, processing, packaging, storing, cold chain and especially marketing have been real issues to be tackled and all these augment the necessity to well-qualified Fisheries Engineer in the country.

Our graduates can find jobs as researchers in the state organizations such as universities, research institutes, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs as well as in private sector such as farms, feed, equipment, import-export companies etc. Our Fisheries Engineers have been continuing to contribute to Turkish economy by taking part in reputable private companies at production and administration levels, and even working in their own production facilities.