MUCILAGE CLEANUP CAMPAIGN STARTS

The cleanup effort has been launched to remove the mucilage (sea snot) from the Marmara Sea. The campaign started on the Caddebostan coast in Istanbul with the participation of Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum, Governor of Istanbul Ali Yerlikaya, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Governor of Kocali Serdar Yavuz and Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tahir Buyukakin. Work will be conducted simultaneously in other coastal cities of the Marmara Sea, including Kocaeli, Tekirdag, Canakkale, Bursa, Balikesir and Yalova. The Marmara Sea will be declared a ‘conservation area’ by the end of 2021, according to Murat Kurum. A total of 25 sea surfacecleaning and barrier-laying boats, as well as 18 other vessels are working to prevent the spread of the mucilage. Nearly 1,000 people have been deployed for the operation and teams work 24/7.