Sea of Marmara

With efforts to eliminate the problem of mucilage in the Turkish seas finally paying off, thousands of people flocked to beaches to enjoy the sunny weather on the first Sunday without nationwide lockdown.

Marine mucilage, which has been plaguing the Marmara Sea over the recent months, has also been observed in the northern Aegean Sea, especially around Gökçeada and Bozcaada, two islands off the shores of the northwestern province of Çanakkale.

Turkey will use oxygenation technology to protect the Sea of Marmara from mucilage, also known as sea snot, as part of the country's clean-up campaign launched earlier this month, said the environment minister on June 21.

Over the past 12 days, Turkish sea cleaning teams have collected a total of 4,555 cubic meters (160,858 cubic feet) of mucilage from the Sea of Marmara, said the country's environment and urbanization minister on June 20.

Updating on the efforts to clear out the mucilage, also known as sea snot, Murat Kurum said on Twitter that the operations were conducted at 278 locations.

Over the past 11 days, Turkish sea cleaning teams have collected a total of 4,202 cubic meters (148, 392 cubic feet) of mucilage from the Marmara Sea, said the country's environment and urbanization minister on June 19.

Updating the state of the works to clear out mucilage, also known as sea knot, Murat Kurum said on Twitter that the operations were conducted in 255 locations.

Marine mucilage, which spreads in the Sea of Marmara and has recently been observed at the bottom of the Aegean exit of the Dardanelles, poses a threat to small boats, according to a Turkish scientist.

Turkish cleanup teams have collected a total of 3,288 cubic meters (116,114 cubic feet) of mucilage from the Marmara Sea in the last eight days, the country's environment and urbanization minister said on June 16.

In line with Turkey's comprehensive sea cleaning effort to clear up mucilage from the Marmara Sea, the Environment and Urbanization Ministry have temporarily closed a fertilizer factory in the northwestern province of Balıkesir's Bandırma district after footage showing the factory discharging untreated wastewater into the sea went viral on social media and triggered a public outcry.

Turkish teams collected over 1,197 cubic meters (42,271 cubic feet) of mucilage from the Sea of Marmara over the past four days, said the environment and urbanization minister on June 12.

In a statement, Murat Kurum said operations to clear the sea of the substance, also known as "sea snot," are ongoing at 77 locations, adding that the collected mucilage had been sent for disposal.

Turkey launched a massive cleanup campaign in 15 districts of seven provinces along the coast of the Marmara Sea on June 8 in an effort to eliminate the aggravating mucilage problem that has severely affected the marine ecosystem.