8-year ghost net effort protects marine biodiversity

ISTANBUL

A total of 1 million square meters of ghost nets have been removed from inland waters and seas over the course of a project spanning more than eight years, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry has announced.

Since the inception of the Ghost Fishing Gears Removal Project in 2014, teams have scanned 166 million square meters of seabed. In addition to the removal of 1 million square meters of ghost nets, equivalent to the size of 150 football fields, the project has also successfully extracted 40,000 abandoned fishing traps, nets and similar discarded fishing equipment from the waters.

Noting a series of academic research and field studies demonstrated that ghost nets and abandoned fishing gear have led to the loss of numerous marine lives, the ministry revealed that over the eight-year period of cleanup and retrieval efforts have prevented more than 2.7 million marine organisms from dying.

In its commitment to tackling the issue of ghost nets, the ministry conducts educational activities, including Ghost Net Awareness Events held annually with the participation of local authorities, commercial and amateur fishermen and non-governmental organizations.

As part of the project, discussions with fishermen in Istanbul, Kocaeli, Tekirdağ, Yalova, Balıkesir, Çanakkale and Bursa, which have coastlines along the Marmara Sea, have led to the identification of the locations of ghost nets.

Pointing out that some 84,650 square meters of nets have been removed so far under the Marmara Sea Action Plan, the ministry expressed its commitment to continuing these efforts regularly, with the nets that are still functional being recycled for use in different sectors.

Providing information on the project to the Demirören News Agency, minister İbrahim Yumaklı stated that their goal is to remove an additional 100,000 square meters of ghost nets from seas, lakes and rivers by the end of this year.

"We, as the ministry, scientists and our fishermen who rely on these resources, are collectively responsible for the conservation of biological resources and sustainable management. Collaboration and solidarity are imperative. It must not be forgotten that natural resources are finite, and we must think not only of today but also of our future and our children's future,” Yumaklı said.