Turkey pumps oxygen into Marmara to aid marine life under sea snot

Turkey has placed devices to release oxygen into the sea-snot covered Marmara to help marine life impacted by the mucilage off the coasts of Istanbul and northwestern Kocaeli province.

The devices were placed at five different points in the Gulf of Izmit and off Pendik to contain the mucilage.

Mucilage has increased around the coast of historical Gallipoli peninsula in northwestern Canakkale province since Monday.

Mucilage prevents oxygen transfer by covering the area from the sea surface to 30 metres deep in the Marmara, killing non-motile or immobile organisms such as mussels, oysters, and pina, particularly sponges and corals.

READ MORE: Turkey steps up effort to clean the ‘sea snot’

Sea snot plaguing Canakkale coast

Mucilage has spread in the area between Gallipoli and Eceabat in Canakkale.

Sea snot has also observed in areas of fishery production.

Although there have been reports of mucilage reaching the Black Sea and the Aegean, which are connected by the Marmara, experts do not expect a large expansion there due to differences in condition and geography.

Mucilage is an overgrowth of microscopic algae called phytoplankton caused by rising seawater temperatures due to global warming, stagnant water, and pollution.

This year, mucilage was detected in January and then intensified and expanded in April, emerging into a serious problem threatening marine ecosystems, unlike previous years when it usually disappeared in a month or 45 days.

Mucilage was reported in recent years as early as 1997 in the Dardanelles and the Marmara Sea.

READ MORE: Turkish president vows to resolve Marmara ‘sea snot’ problem