Turkey's president promised Saturday to rescue the Marmara Sea from an outbreak of "sea snot" that is alarming marine biologists and environmentalists.
A huge mass of marine mucilage, a thick, slimy substance made up of compounds released by marine organisms, has bloomed in Turkey's Marmara, as well as in the adjoining Black and Aegean Seas.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said untreated waste dumped into the Marmara Sea and climate change had caused the sea snot bloom. Istanbul, Turkey's largest city with some 16 million residents, and five other provinces, factories and industrial hubs border the sea.
Mucilage, also known colloquially as Sea snot, is the overgrowth of microscopic algae called phytoplankton. The thick, mucus-like slimy layer contains a variety of microorganisms and is caused by an increase in seawater temperature due to global warming, stillness at sea, and pollution.
Marine mucilage has reached unprecedented levels this year in Turkey. It is visible above the water as a slimy gray sheet along the shores of Istanbul and neighboring provinces. Underwater videos showed suffocated coral covered with sea snot.
Erdoğan said he instructed the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to coordinate with relevant institutions, municipalities and universities. Teams are inspecting wastewater and solid waste facilities, along with other potential sources of pollution, he said.
"We will save our seas from this mucilage calamity, leading with the Marmara Sea," Erdoğan said. "We must take this step without delay."
He said the problem would be resolved without waiting for other authorities, such as the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, to take action.
"As the Environment and Urbanization Ministry, you will coordinate this work, and we'll save our seas, especially the Marmara, from this mucilage trouble by joining hands with the universities," said the president.
Erdoğan also noted that the problem could spread to the Black Sea, too, and that they would act before it is late.
"The increase in the sea temperature due to climate change has also contributed considerably to this scene," he said.
Marine experts say that human waste and industrial pollution are choking Turkey's seas. They say the rise in water temperatures from climate change is contributing to the problem.
With a team of 300 people, the ministry is currently carrying out inspections at 91 different points of the Sea of Marmara, as well as all wastewater refinement and solid waste facilities on land, to detect the source of pollution, he said.
About 25 million people live in seven cities along the coast of the Marmara, situated in northwestern Turkey.
Scientists, non-governmental organizations, the Environment and Urbanization Ministry and Marmara Municipalities Union are cooperating to resolve the mucilage problem.
