Solid waste threatens marine biome in Black Sea

RİZE

Solid waste that is thrown into streams in an uncontrolled manner from the coasts of northeastern provinces and reaches the Black Sea after being dragged by floods has been threatening marine biome and the fishing industry.

The wastes accumulating in fishermen’s shelters or covering the sea surface with the effect of waves formed in stormy weathers cause pollution and damage fishing nets. Limited cleaning by fishermen is not yielding results.

Ülgen Aytan, an academic and a marine biologist from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, said that in order to protect biodiversity and fisheries, it is imperative to reduce and stop the amount of plastic entering the seas, and to remove the existing plastic.

“Large plastics in the marine environment cause suffocation and obstruction of the digestive tract as a result of entanglement in living species,” Ülgen said, adding that plastics are a great threat to human health both because of the chemicals they contain and the pollutants collected in the marine environment.

The academic said that plastic waste both negatively affects fish stocks and causes serious damage to fishing equipment, noting that it also creates a serious loss for the country’s economy.