A short note on pelagic fishes in the Finike Seamounts and adjacent waters, the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Çetin Keskin, Arda M. Tonay, Ayhan Dede, Uğur Özsandıkçı

ORCID ID: Ç.K. 0000-0002-2434-0355; A.M.T. 0000-0003-2718-9328; A.D. 0000-0002-7712-615X; 7384; U.Ö 0000-0002-7246-5494

Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Istanbul University, Onaltı Mart Şehitleri Cad. No: 2, 34134 Vezneciler Fatih Istanbul, TÜRKİYE
Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV), P.O. Box: 10, Beykoz, Istanbul, TÜRKİYE
Faculty of Fisheries, Sinop University, Sinop, TÜRKIYE

Abstract

This article reports pelagic fish species recorded during the survey of cetaceans in the Finike Seamounts region and the adjacent waters in 2021. The Mediterranean flyingfish Cheilopogon heterurus (Rafinesque, 1810) and Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758) were observed and recorded during their flight/leap movements on the water surface. The scientific sharing of these data is important in terms of emphasizing the richness of the pelagic life of the Finike Seamounts region and underlines the importance of declaring the region as a Special Environmental Protection Area (SEPA).

Keywords: Cheilopogon heterurus, Tunnus thynnus, offshore observations, Finike Seamounts SEPA, Anaximander Mountains

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