Marmara Sea’s biodiversity restoring as mucilage disappears

ISTANBUL

The biodiversity of the Marmara Sea has begun to restore as endangered species that once left the sea are now returning to the waters, following the clearing of mucilage, which gravely invaded and threatened the marine fauna, officials have announced.

The protection measures implemented by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry in the Marmara Sea in 2020 have yielded positive results.

Altuğ Atalay, the head of the ministry’s Fisheries Department, pointed out that the sea has started to become a home for many creatures, such as endangered fan mussel, gurnard, seagrass meadow, and turbot, under the threat of uncontrolled hunting. The Marmara Sea has regained its former state, which means that the mucilage is no longer affecting this area.”

Fishermen are very pleased with the situation, as turbot and mackerel, which had not been hunted since the 1980s, are being fished once again, according to Atalay.

Regarding the latest warning by experts that the oxygen at the lowest layers of the Marmara Sea is at the level of complete depletion, Atalay said, “The fish that are mainly hunted in the Marmara Sea are the ones swimming at medium depth, ensuring they are not affected by this.”

“Fish can easily recognize the areas where oxygen is present in the water, and they live in these places, but, of course, it is necessary to continue to protect the sea,” he added.

The amount of oxygen that should be around two milligrams for living things to survive in the lower layer was recorded as zero in the Marmara Sea, though the oxygen in the upper layer of the sea was at a normal level, said Sabri Mutlu, the chief expert of a team participating in a voyage to determine the effects of pollutants.

Meanwhile, within the scope of protection measures, nearly 250 boats determined to harm biodiversity by poaching in the Marmara Sea have been confiscated since the beginning of 2020.

“We donated most of them to public institutions and organizations, or we broke them into pieces as they are not returned to fishermen, according to the law,” Atalay added.