Bonito’s (Sarda sarda) symbolic importance in the Black Sea from antiquity to present

Bonito (Sarda sarda) is an important food source for communities surrounding the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean coasts since archaic times. It is a fast-growing species, reaching adult length in a relatively short time. Fishing it is easy and can be achieved through simple techniques. It is consumed year-round, not only fresh in season, but also salted, a traditional storage method, and bonito brine was a popular and important ancient commodity. Schools of bonito that once stocked the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn during their migration season were historically a prominent symbol of the region. Fish and fisheries hold very strong cultural significance in present day Istanbul, formerly known as Byzantium and later as Constantinople. According to local sales records for the Istanbul fish market of the early 20th century, 1940, with 6 million fish, had the highest bonito sales for the period between 1928 and 1952. In the 1950s, the stock was so healthy that in just one day, 600,000 bonito and 240,000 larger-sized torik (Turkish for adult bonito) were caught. However, after the early 1960s, torik numbers began to decrease gradually and bonito became dominant. Torik were last reported in Turkey in 1991, representing 41 tons. In the last few decades, no bonito spawning stock has been caught during its spring northern migration route to the Black Sea, as stock size and distribution have drastically decreased. The present study reveals the historical story of bonito’s biology, ecology, migration and catches, and links historical information to modern scientific data. Although this species continues to be well-studied, many of the historical anecdotes reported by philosophers, geographers, travellers and writers hold important historical value and help better understand bonito history and its changing trajectories through both time and space.