It is difficult to imagine the sea without fish or fish without the sea, yet although Istanbul is a city so intertwined with the sea, fish are becoming increasingly scarce. You might not think so to look at the brightly lit fishmong'sgl stalls arrayed with gleaming bluefish, bonito, gilthead bream, sea bass, whiting, and turbot in Balikpazari, Kadikoy, Besiktas, Beykoz, Anadolu Kavagi, Rumeli Kavagi and Kumkapi. Anglers, however, are well aware of the true state of affairs, and at the fisherm'ssg shelter in Kocamustafapasa the mood is sad.Miserably they sit together, withdrawn from the noisy life of the great city around them, thinking only of the sea, in which they still rest their hopes. Their little close-knit community shares everything, including the geese, Tokat hens, coots and wild ducks which they feed.Since the 1960s one of their number, Haydar Deniz, has been collecting fish specimens. At first he kept the jamjars of preservation fluid at home, but as the collection grew he moved it to the shelter.

Four of the storerooms were joined to form space for the specimens, which now fill the wall shelves.
Among the fish to be seen here were many we had never heard of, never mind seen: thin-lipped grey mullet, kelebekhorozbina (a species of blenny, Blennius ocellaris), ribbon fish (Cepola rubescens), torpedo fish (Torpedo marmorata), sand-smelt (Atherina hepsetus), ombrine (Umbrina cirrosa), and uzgunbaligi (Callionymus lyra). The specimens have all been caught in the Marmara, Black Sea, Aegean or Mediterranean.

With the addition of seashells, starfish, lanterns, communications equipment, ropes exhibiting different fisherm'sng knots, and even special ashtrays which conceal the glow of the burning cigarette, the room has been transformed into a small but fascinating museum. Any pride that Haydar Deniz might have felt at organising the museum singlehandedly is overshadowed by his sorrow at the decline of sea life over the past few decades.

* Can Kiziltan is a freelance writer .