Aquatic ecology

There is no danger in consuming the fish caught from the Marmara Sea that was cleaned of mucilage in a nonstop operation in three months as authorities did not detect any risks after making countless tests, two experts have said.

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Large globules of mucilage which had been sighted since March in the Sea of Marmara offshore Turkey's largest city of Istanbul are now absent.

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Work initiated by Turkey's Environment and Urbanization Ministry to combat mucilage, also known as sea snot, has yielded significant results.

The presence of marine mucilage in the depths of the Marmara Sea continues to be a threat even though it was cleared from the surface of the sea a few weeks ago, according to the latest exploration studies carried out on the surface and bottom of the sea by an expert.

Experts are concerned about the consumption of fish coming from the Marmara Sea, which has been covered with a thick, foamy layer of marine mucilage since April, daily Milliyet has reported.

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When asked if people could freely eat fish coming from the Marmara Sea, most experts and scientists hesitated to give a direct answer with a "Yes."

The weather in Bulgaria on Friday will be sunny. In the eastern half of the country there will be moderate winds from north-northeast. Temperatures will rise and daytime highs will be between 27 °C and 32 °C.

Mustafa Sarı, a professor from the Science Board - established to coordinate efforts to fight against mucilage that has invaded the Turkish waters, has said that long-term solutions are needed to rescue the Maramara Sea from sea snot.

"Since we cannot change the conditions in nature what we have to do is very simple: We have to stop waste from being disposed into the sea," Sarı said.

Almost a month after authorities launched a massive cleaning campaign, no trace of marine mucilage was detected in the north of the Bosphorus Strait, which is the entry point of the upper current coming from the Black Sea.

Turkey's agriculture and forestry minister has said fish caught in the Marmara Sea can be consumed without any doubt amid public worry that the fish weren't edible due to "sea snot," or mucilage, that has invaded the sea over the past weeks.

The marine mucilage density has decreased in the southern shores of the Marmara Sea thanks to the efforts in line with a massive cleanup campaign launched by the authorities to eliminate the problem.

While efforts are ongoing in line with a massive cleanup campaign launched by Turkish authorities to pull the Marmara Sea out of the mucilage calamity, residents are hesitant and concerned about consuming seafood coming from the sea.