We lost bluefin tuna forever from Bosporus and the great white shark chasing it!
We lost lobsters, we lost blue marlin, we lost mediterranean monk seal, we lost mackerel
Is BLUEFISH stands the next marine species on the line of extinction?
Bluefish aggressive and fast attacks almost any fish undersized, hard to catch. There are stories of careless fisherman that lost fingers or get a good scratch while trying to release it from the fishing hook. There are even some fisherman stories in which, bluefish schools chasing hungry dolphins. The documentary is about a fish that had huge cultural influence over a region for thousand years and empires long, which was sadly overfished over the last decades. The fish highly desired in the region; amazingly nearly 70% of World harvest is from Turkey & Marmara Sea. The documentary is following the annual migration of the Blue fish along Bosporus both under and above water together with the human stories & lives (fisherman, scientist, fish sellers, hobbyist, historians, restaurant owners, NGO’s, writers, poets, bloggers, reporters) bonded to it. The cultural and economical importance of the fish for the people is worthless and there is no coming back from extinction for this incredible species, which sadly means a loss of seamanship/cuisine culture!
LUFER (Bluefish) is a glitter in people’s eyes, big time money for the small & big fisherman. Lufer fishing is an addiction, a daily routine for the retired, unemployed and offtime employer/hobbyists across Bosporus. If you have a chance to travel around Istanbul coastline a day in October, you can count around ten thousand fishing roads, day & night. Fish means gathering reason for families & friends, means warm table conversations in restaurants all around the canal. Lufer means these facts and many more for thousands of years for the people residing around Bosphorus waters. But with the advancement of the heavy industry and human population increase since 1950’s the numbers of fish migrating is diminishing year by year. Some individuals & NGO’s are trying to pictures this fact with public awareness campaigns, advertisements, but no one has ever truly documented the Bluefish migration underwater, the fish caught in the nets, fishing lines, underwater footage from Marmara Sea and most importantly; people of Istanbul through the eyes LUFER and Bluefish through the eyes of its inhabitants.
Facebook page of Bluefish > www.facebook.com
Indiegogo campaign page > www.indiegogo.com
