Turkey to clean up ‘sea snot’ choking its coast
Thick slime threatening the Sea of Marmara
TURKEY vowed to save the Sea of Marmara on Tuesday by launching a disaster management programme meant to clean-up a slimy “sea snot” outbreak threatening marine life and the fishing industry.
The thick layer of organic matter, known as marine mucilage, has spread through the sea south of İstanbul covering harbours, shorelines and swathes of surfaces. Some of it has sunk below the waves, suffocating seabed life.
Environment Minister, Murat Kurum, said 25 sea surface-cleaning and barrier-laying boats, as well as 18 other vessels, were working to prevent the spread of the mucilage. Illegal fishing and “ghost” nets would be halted and Turkey would declare Marmara a protected area by the end of 2021, he said.
“We are starting our cleaning efforts at 15 points on both land and sea today,” Mr Kurum said.
“We are determined to save the Marmara and we will save it,” he added.
Some 1,000 workers will bring the waste to shore and it will be transported by lorries to municipal facilities, he said.
Scientists say climate change and pollution have contributed to the proliferation of the substance, which contains a wide variety of microorganisms and can flourish when nutrient-rich sewage flows into seawater.
Residents welcomed the clean-up, but complained about “years of uncontrolled pollution in the sea”.
“Of course, this sea snot is something that is caused over a few years.
“With our years-long unawareness we know that harmful substances thrown into the sea causes a ‘vomiting in the seabed’ when there is no current,” said Kadir Saydam, a 65-year old pharmacist.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has blamed the plague on untreated water from cities including İstanbul, home to some 16 million people, and vowed to “clear our seas from the mucilage scourge”.