Bandırma

Marine mucilage, first detected in the Marmara Sea about three years ago and leading to extensive measures from authorities, has recently resurfaced, an expert has warned.

Concerns over an expected large-scale earthquake in the Marmara region have escalated after a tremor measuring 4.9 magnitude struck the area late on March 4.

The seas of Türkiye are experiencing an onslaught of jellyfish as rising water temperatures and pollution create a favorable environment for their proliferation.

In the wake of the mucilage disaster that plagued the Marmara Sea in 2021, a surge in the population of pinas, a type of mussel with natural filtration capabilities, has offered a glimmer of hope for the troubled ecosystem.

According to experts, there has been a remarkable surge in the population of pinas, which is known for its capacity to filter up to six liters of water per hour.

In the first six months of the year, a record-breaking number of people have visited the Bandırma Ferry Museum, a replica of the historical ferry on which Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other high military officials arrived in the northern province of Samsun to initiate the Turkish War of Independence on May 19, 1919.

The mucilage nightmare that first emerged in the Marmara about two years ago and has spread almost over all the sea is returning, an expert warned.

"Creamy" mucilage was detected on the shores of the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, Istanbul's Fenerbahçe district and Bursa's Mudanya, Gemlik and Erdek districts.

With the effects of drought and the increase in sea water temperatures, there might be a new mucilage formation in the Marmara Sea, an expert has warned.

Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sarı, dean of the Faculty of Maritime Studies at Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University, regularly dives to examine the changes in the Marmara Sea.

All conditions are set for the formation of new mucilage in the Marmara Sea considering the latest photos, according to Mustafa Sarı, a member of the Mucilage Science Board and a professor from Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University.

"When you look at Bandırma Bay, for example, you see three different colors, brown, turquoise and dark green."

While digging a building pit in province of Balıkesir's Bandırma district in Marmara region on April 25, construction workers found more than 830 hand grenades that are thought to be remnants of World War I.

Of the 831 hand grenades, 420 were still active, bomb disposal officers of local police force said.

The danger of mucilage, which invaded and heavily affected the marine ecosystem of the Marmara Sea last summer, may return, as blocks of a new form of sea snot have started to appear off the coasts of Istanbul, a Turkish expert has warned.