Soggy mass contaminates the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul
The Turkish Sea of Marmara is infested with a mud plague caused by algae.
Quell: AFP/Yasin AkgulG
Marine biologists and environmentalists are concerned: A slimy substance pollutes the Sea of Marma near Istanbul and is spreading into the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Now President Erdogan is also interfering.
dThe Sea of Marmara near Istanbul is filthy with a gray layer of mud. The coarse material consists of compounds released by marine organisms and is currently blooming more intensively than ever before, not only in the Marmara Sea with the metropolis of Istanbul, but also in the adjacent Black Sea and Aegean Sea.
On the surface of the water, the mass can be seen as gray sludge, which is why it is also called “serotz”. In the underwater video, corals are covered and suffocated.
Marine biologists and environmentalists were concerned. Human and industrial debris clogged the ocean, he explained. Rising temperatures due to climate change will do the rest.
The port of Pendik in the Asian part of Istanbul is covered with a thick mass of sea mud
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The gray slime is known as “serotz” and was first documented in Turkish waters in 2007.
Quell: AFP/Yasin AkgulG
Mucus not only makes bathing impossible. Fishermen cannot cast their nets because they either break or at least become very dirty and unusable.
Experts warn of “mass extinction” of marine life
According to marine biologists, sludge has negative consequences for organisms living on the ocean floor – such as mussels, whose growth slows down when they are under a layer of mud.
Ekin Akoglu, a marine biologist at Odtu University in Turkey, said that even the softest corals covered with mud cannot do their real job of filtering water.
In the long term, the negative impact on zooplankton, on which many fish feed, is particularly fatal. If its quantity decreases, the fish population will also decrease. Byram Ozturk, a biologist at the Turkish Foundation for Marine Research and professor at the University of Istanbul, even warns of a “mass extinction” of marine life.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed untreated waste for the incident and called for swift action. He said on Saturday that he had directed the environment ministry to work with universities, city administrations and other institutions.
Teams of experts should investigate sewage, landfills and other potential sources of pollution. “We will protect our seas, especially the Marmara Sea, from the ravages of this mud,” Erdogan promised.
The coastline of the inland sea is densely populated. In addition to the 16 million metropolis of Istanbul, large cities such as Bursa are located on it.
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