Murat Kurum Minister of Environment and Urbanization announced that they have completed the cleaning of 3539.9 cubic meters of mucilage in the Sea of Marmara, and a penalty of 12 million TL (approximately 1.382M $) has been imposed on businesses that do not fulfill the necessary conditions.
Kurum made a statement on his social media account regarding the cleaning work initiated to solve the mucilage (sea saliva) problem that causes pollution in the Sea of Marmara. "On the 9th day of our mucilage cleaning in the Marmara Sea, we have completed the cleaning of 251.7 cubic meters and a total of 3539.9 cubic meters of mucilage.
As of June 16, we continue our mucilage cleaning in 208 regions without interruption. At the end of 9 days in our provinces; We sent 235.2 cubic meters of mucilage in Kocaeli, 131.5 cubic meters in Bursa, 139 cubic meters in Tekirdağ, 351 cubic meters in Balıkesir, 286 cubic meters in Çanakkale, and 1470 cubic meters in Yalova to disposal in the sanitary landfills" Kurum said in the statement.
MUCILAGE CAUSED SEDIMENT IN THE SEA
The mucilage seen on the sea surface in the Gulf of Izmit descended to the bottom, causing sediment to form on the seafloor. It is seen that the mucilage that settles to the seabed covers the seafloor like a carpet on the images and negatively affects some sea creatures.
PROF. DR. ELIPEK: THE PRINCIPAL PROBLEM IN MARMARA IS AT THE DEEP
"Unfortunately, the low oxygen content and the decrease in bacteria due to oxide materials prevent the sea from cleaning itself. But the essential problem is at the bottom” Trakya University Faculty of Science, Biology Department Lecturer Prof. Dr. Belgin Elipek said regarding the mucilage in the Marmara Sea.
