Marmara

Mucilage that invaded and threatened the marine biome of the Marmara Sea alarmingly is no longer seen on the surface of the sea thanks to the intensive cleaning efforts, Turkish Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum has said.

Racketeers are exploiting legal loopholes to grab lands on lakes and around dams that are drying due to drought and leasing them out for commercial agricultural activities, daily Milliyet has reported.

Those lands, which emerge when water levels in lakes or dams recede, are very fertile but they normally belong to the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ).

A field study conducted to examine the marine mucilage, which invaded the Marmara Sea a few months ago, has revealed that though the sea's surface is now clean thanks to the ongoing efforts, the threat is not over yet.

The study has once again brought to the horizon the need to address the problem of pollution that has become a grave environmental concern.

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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Nigeria's LNG carrier, LNG Abuja II, reached Turkey on Aug. 23, according to the latest ship tracking data.

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The vessel, which has a capacity of 170,000 cubic meters, left Nigeria's port of Bonny on Aug. 9 and arrived at its final destination, the Marmara Ereğlisi LNG Terminal on Aug. 23 at 03.41 local time.

New environmental projects for Istanbul are crucial as 76 percent of the pollution load of the Marmara Sea comes from the metropolis, the head of a parliamentary research commission examining mucilage that invaded the sea early in the summer has said.

Bulgarian and Albanian gangs are fighting to control the appetizing donut market on Greek beaches and there have been regular shootings between them, according to media in Greece and North Macedonia.

A 44-year-old Georgian citizen told "Prototema" that as he was resting on the beach of Neos Marmaras in Halkidiki, he heard gunshots behind him and a shout of "Hands up!"

Lake Marmara in Turkey's western province of Manisa has almost dried up due to years of low rainfall and misusage of its water for agricultural purposes.

Created by the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) for agricultural irrigation in 1945, the lake used to give an average of 150 million cubic meters of water per year to the Gediz Plain.

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."