Mucilage

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.

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.

Academics from Istanbul University have found a solution for the mucilage problem in the Marmara Sea with a mixture obtained from beneficial bacteria.

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.

Benthos such as thornback, flounder, needlefish, blenny and crab, which had left the Marmara Sea last summer, has returned, according to experts who divided into the waters along the coast of Eskihisar in the northwestern province of Kocaeli's Gebze district to investigate the destructive effect of mucilage.

With no signs of mucilage and the reproduction of an endangered species, the submerged İnönü vessel has become a light of hope to experts that the Marmara Sea is "not dying."

The İnönü vessel, which was submerged in 2013 off the northwestern province of Kocaeli's Karamürsel district, was covered with heavy layers of mucilage in June 2021.

Freeing the Marmara Sea of mucilage does not mean the sea has been saved, as there is still more that needs to be done, the head of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK) has said.

The use of fertilizers and pesticides in the fields surrounding the sea should be stopped, and fishing in the Marmara Sea must be banned, according to Hasan Mandal.

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.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is working on a bill to fight mucilage in the Marmara Sea that would require municipalities to construct dozens of advanced treatment facilities.