"This animal will die out too. How can an animal that isn't allowed to lay eggs, continue to breed?" ( From the film)
The bluefish, a much-loved and iconic symbol of Istanbul, faces the threat of extinction.
The bluefish is an Istanbul icon. Stories abound about what this lithe silvery fish, the fastest and most ferocious swimmer of the Bosphorus, can do. Called a small monster, or piranha, there are rumours of it attacking clusters of bonito, and even dolphins. The fish is truly a Bosphorus legend. The Bosphorus has already lost some of its famous inhabitants – the giant blue-fin tuna and its predator, the white shark, no longer swim through. Lobsters that were once plentiful in the Marmara, swordfish and Mediterreanean seals are also long gone. Most recently, the Bosphorus mackerel disappeared. Is the bluefish next in line? Combining magical underwater footage with interviews with fishermen, activists and more, the film tells the fish's story with great sensitivity.
Mert Gokalp is a marine-biologist and underwater documentary specialist based in Istanbul. He graduated from Middle East Techical University, studied MSc. in Miami University Marine Sciences, and at Ankara University. He is currently continuing his PhD in the Wageningen University of Netherlands, in Fisheries & Aquaculture Department. He worked in two European Union Projects on the subject of sustainable use of marine resources. He also worked in various advertisement projects globally as script writer, photographer, DOP and UW cameraman. In 2011he published a guidebook for marine species of Mediterranean Sea and produced a Marine Nature Guide (Doga Rehberi- 550 marine species) a smart phone application for marine species of Mediterranean Sea. He has 4 individual 1 combined photography exhibitions and he is working in the geology & culture magazine Magma as a writer & photographer. As a documentary maker, he is currently working on series of underwater feature length documentaries and continues to address environmental issues, effect of human being on the nature.
