There have been important developments in the number of fishing vessels, size and engine power due to low-interest loans and customs exemptions provided by the state in the 1970s and fishing vessel numbers showed a rapid increase especially after 1980 in Turkey. However, marine fisheries production has been decreasing since 1985 despite the rapid development of the fishing fleet, leading to a decline in the real income of fishermen. In Turkish seas, there are 15.680 licensed fishing vessels actively operating with different depths in 2015. When the number of fishing vessels in Turkey is compared to those of the EU countries except Italy and Spain, vessels in these countries are found to be less than in Turkey. The situation is particularly damaging the ecosystem and the fish stocks by wrong fishing techniques. One of the most important ways to solve this issue is the repurchase "buyback"programs that are commonly encouraged by regulations of the state. In fact, most of the EU countries having advanced fishing industry decided that the reduction of fishing fleet is an effective solution and they have accepted to put it into practice.