Turkey’s Marmara Sea becoming a new hotspot of daily pollution
A dramatic decrease in fish has been observed in the Marmara sea of Turkey due to climate change and unbridled litter. The extent of destruction of such environmental deterioration in the ocean has not been clear yet. The delayed initiative from the respective government and administration failed to assure any good solution.
Mud alike materials are floating on the sea surface. Even the port of Istanbul was not spared. Ali Coskun a fisherman, was stunned to see such a scenario. Ali showed his grief by saying, “This is a big disaster, especially for fishermen. He further added, how will the fish go to survive in this water?
It will take mostly two minutes for fishes to die if they are stuck in this mud. It seems like Fishermen are catching plastic, not fish. As they find more plastic than fish when they open the fishing net. Greece has a vast fishing fleet of 250 trawlers. This fleet can catch fish by casting nets up to a certain depth of the sea.
Once, Fishermen like Ali Coskun used to supply fresh fish directly to the people of the city. From the last few years, the number of fish continued to decline. Simultaneously, the frequency of pollution kept going. But environmental degradation like this never happened before.
A large part of the Marmara Sea is covered with a layer of mud. Fisherman Ali Coskun said, “Even at the beginning of this century, we have seen layers of such pollution at sea. I didn’t get concerned as I would wash that mud thinking as a speck of dirt in the fishnet as I didn’t observe fishes getting harmed for these consequences at that time.
This scenario changed this time. This thick mud-like substance comes out from sea creatures’ bodies, covering the upper and lower parts of the water for a few kilometers. The effects of climate change and the waste dumping from Istanbul are solely responsible for the catastrophe.
Authorities are trying to get rid of the muddy substance by hauling special ships and pumping them. However, it is not clear whether the initiative will work. Because in some places, the mud layer is up to 30 meters deep. To change the situation, several Sewage treatment plants needed to be established on the shores of the Marmara Sea.
The government has quickly launched a ‘Marmara Sea Action Plan’. Murat Karim, the environment ministry of Turkey, said that “We will launch the largest maritime reform campaign in Turkey’s history. I call on all the people of the country to help in this work.”
According to Turkish marine biologist Mert Gokalp, it is too late. The sea ecosystem has been already severely damaged.
Mert also added “The Marmara Sea is connected to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea by two channels. This sea is almost like a lake. The waste of two and a half crore people has been going there for nearly 50 years.
Ali Coskun is no longer able to cast a net in the sea because of mucus. The catch is no longer going under the water. Even if it comes down, it is filled with other substances besides fish.
That’s why he is trying to catch fish with a fishing hock instead of a fishing net after 40 years of his fishing career. But no fish has been captured to date. Ali Coskun will probably have to give up his job permanently.
Swimming in this sea also seems unimaginable. As the growth of life-threatening bacteria and viruses has been observed in these mud-like layers. Some experts are even warning about the outbreak of cholera.
That is why several beaches on the shores of the Marmara Sea have been closed. Once upon a time, there was no scarcity of fish in the sea. Pollution has changed the scenario today.
