ANKARA (Dispatches) – Turkey has collected a total of 2,684 cubic meters (94,784 cubic feet) of mucilage from the Sea of Marmara over the last seven days.
Sharing the latest updates on the efforts to clear the waters, Turkey’s environment and urbanization minister Murat Kurum said on Tuesday that ongoing operations were progressing well and that the collected mucilage had been sent for disposal.
The northwestern Yalova province, Istanbul, and the western province of Balikesir were among the areas where most of the mucilage has been cleared, he said.
“In 1,438 inspections we conducted as of June 14, we imposed an administrative fine of 7.55 million Turkish liras ($881,239) on businesses that did not fulfill the necessary conditions,” he said.
Mucilage, also known as “sea snot”, is an overgrowth of microscopic algae called phytoplankton and is caused by rising seawater temperatures due to global warming, stagnant water and pollution.
On June 6, Turkish authorities announced a 22-point action plan to clear a surge of mucilage that covered parts of the Sea of Marmara in the country’s northwest.
Meanwhile, Turkey has boosted its controls against businesses that do not meet the necessary rules on waste dumping as part of the campaign launched against the mucilage problem, Kurum announced Tuesday.
Kurum added that his crews have passed the samples of the effluent of treatment plants through extensive tests.