Tradition and change in the belief systems Eastern Black Sea fishermen, Türkiye

This study examines the belief systems of Turkish fishermen in the Eastern Black Sea Region related to occupational activities. The research explores the origins and presents forms of representations of the beliefs, transmitted informally down through generations to new participants. Field studies were conducted with fishermen at intervals for three years. During the field studies, ethnographic research methods were used. Interviews and observations were made with the fishermen living on the coastal area of 320 km on the Eastern Black Sea. The effects of beliefs on occupational culture, human-nature relationship, and fishing practices were determined. It was concluded that the beliefs, which are about to be forgotten with changes in fishing technologies and other factors, were important not only for occupational culture, but also for the sustainability of traditional ecological knowledge, the balance of the relationship between humans and nature, and for the conservation of resources.