Professor says mucilage can also be seen in the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean
Professor Mustafa Sarı has drawn attention to the effects of climate change. He also stated that mucilage could be seen in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea and added; ”In the coming years, mucilage is much more likely to recur.” The problem of mucilage, which occurs when the bottom structure hits the surface has been a problem for Marmara Sea for months.
Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum said on July 14 that the musilage in Marmara was over adding “Musilage is no longer found in the first 20 meters. No negative problems were encountered in the swimming water areas. Our citizens can easily enter the sea and eat fish.” In fact, the minister, together with the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli, had eaten sardines caught from the Sea of Marmara in front of the cameras.
According to experts, the effect of mucilage cleaned from the surface continues in the seas, although the Ministry said that it had been cleaned once again, recently.
The danger has not passed
Speaking at the meeting on mucilage held in Bandırma, Onyedi September University Dean of the Faculty of Maritime Prof. Dr. APR Mustafa Sarı said that mucilage, although it had surfaced in April last year, had actually been effective all over the Sea of Marmara, since November.
Highly likely to recur
At the meeting, journalists asked, “Is there a danger of mucilage in other seas?” The professor replied as follows: “Mucilage has been an ecological event known to the scientific world since the 1720s. This is a natural ecological event. It can be seen on all seas. It is currently being seen very intensively in the Sea of Marmara. In 2007-2008, it appeared in the Adriatic Sea at this intensity. There is always a possibility that we will see mucilage in the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in the coming years. This climate change has such a big impact that if we don’t reduce the pollution burden of the seas, the increase in surface temperatures due to climate change continues and is rising. Just as awareness has been raised in Marmara due to mucilage at the moment, an action plan has been made. We are trying to take measures with this action plan. We set out with an awareness. We think that this awareness will increase in the long term. We need to do the same for the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Perhaps we will not see such an intensity of mucilage in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas in the first place. But it can occur regionally, locally in closed bays and gulfs, it is possible. But in the Sea of Marmara, the probability of this is much higher. In the coming years, mucilage is much more likely to recur”.
