Polysaccharides

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.

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.

With the efforts in line with a massive cleanup campaign launched by the authorities to eliminate the problem of mucilage that has severely threatened the marine biome finally paying off, the Turkish seas are coming back to life once again.

Marine mucilage, which spreads in the Sea of Marmara and has recently been observed at the bottom of the Aegean exit of the Dardanelles, poses a threat to small boats, according to a Turkish scientist.

Turkish researchers have stepped up their efforts to determine the reasons behind mucilage, which has covered swathes of the Marmara Sea, south of Istanbul, and effective methods to clean it up, as authorities continue their intense cleaning works.

A parliamentary decision on the establishment of a commission to investigate the causes of the mucilage problem in Turkish seas and to determine measures to be taken has been published in the Official Gazette.

Turkey's president chaired a meeting late on June 10 at the Presidential Complex in the capital discussing solutions to the mucilage problem in the Sea of Marmara. 

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said authorities have intensified inspections at all sewage and solid waste facilities while examining developments at sea.

Teams from Turkey's Environment and Urbanization Ministry on June 6 started work clearing the Sea of Marmara of mucilage.

Marine mucilage that has invaded Turkey's Marmara Sea continues to be a grave threat despite comprehensive cleaning efforts, threatening the fishing industry and marine biome considerably, according to the latest exploration studies carried out on the surface and bottom of the sea by an expert.