Scientists, local officials to convene on Gulf of İzmir pollution

İZMİR

Scientists and local authorities will tackle the issue of pollution and mass fish deaths plaguing the Gulf of İzmir recently in a meeting on Nov. 27, İzmir Mayor has announced.

“We intend to engage in dredging in order to improve the Gulf's fluidity. We truly view each day as an opportunity to work on the Gulf,” Cemil Tugay said. “We are making progress in several areas. We shall exert as much effort as we are able to.”

The western city has been grappling with persistent environmental degradation in its iconic gulf, which prompted the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry to launch an in-depth inquiry.

During the investigation, it was discovered that two wastewater treatment facilities, under the purview of the municipality, discharged contaminated water into the gulf.

Furthermore, oxygen levels, which should typically be 6 milligrams per liter, were found to have plummeted to as low as 1.8 milligrams per liter. In addition, certain areas were discovered to be registering near-zero oxygen, resulting in the suffocation of marine life in the gulf.

Imposing a fine of 1.8 million Turkish Liras on the İzmir Municipality as a result of this investigation, the ministry released a thorough 15-point action plan in response to this disclosure in an effort to address these ecological challenges swiftly.

“As I have stated several times, it [the action plan] won't be sufficient to clean the Gulf,” Tugay said, emphasizing that it primarily covers the steps needed to be taken by the municipality.

“However, we are already taking these steps. Put another way, I'm suggesting that they should propose a remedy to the pollution that has collected over the years and the causes for it,” he further added.

The 35-member scientific board of the ministry was split up into specialized working groups that tackled different environmental issues such as marine ecosystem assessment, wastewater infrastructure and climate change modeling.

In an effort to increase public knowledge of water conservation and environmental stewardship, the ministry also intends to carry out continuous public education campaigns in partnership with non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and other organizations.