The discharge of industrial wastes and household wastes is among the reasons for the formation of mucilage, which is the secretion they leave in response to certain events, with the excessive proliferation of micro algae called phytoplankton, that is, microscopic plantlets, which constitute the beginning of biological production in the sea. Mucilage had seriously affected the Sea of Marmara in the past months.
At the meeting on mucilage held in Balıkesir, it was noted that mucilage can be seen in the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, as it is in the Marmara. Speaking at the meeting, Onyedi Eylül University Maritime Faculty Dean Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sarı, calling for an action plan, said, “Just as an awareness has been created in Marmara due to mucilage and an action plan has been made, we need to do the same for the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean Sea.”
It is necessary to reduce the pollution load
Stating that the danger is great and has not passed, Sarı said that they continue to follow this danger scientifically. prof. Dr. Expressing that there is excessive algae growth in the water, Mustafa Sarı said, “For now, we can say that we are not talking about a mass-formed mucilage in the water column yet. The mucilage mud and fine mucilage that formed at the bottom last year, settled to the bottom and continues to break down, continues. However, there is excessive algae growth in the water. Visibility decreased a lot in the 8-22 meter range. We are watching, we will continue to watch. We hope that if the climatic conditions get a little colder, if the circulation in the sea can increase, it will have a negative effect on the formation of mucilage.
Answering whether there is a risk of mucilage in other seas as in the Marmara Sea, Sarı said that mucilage is an ecological phenomenon known to the scientific world since the 1720s, and said, “This is a natural ecological phenomenon. It can be seen in all the seas. It is seen very intensely in the Marmara Sea at the moment. It appeared in the Adriatic Sea with this intensity in 2007-2008. There is always the possibility of seeing mucilage in the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean in the coming years. This climate change is such a big impact that if we do not reduce the pollution load of the seas, the increase in surface temperatures due to climate change continues and is on the rise.
Measures should be taken with an action plan
Sarı also expressed the need for an action plan and said, “Just as there has been an awareness in Marmara due to mucilage, an action plan has been made. We are trying to take measures with this action plan. ‘We practiced less, we practiced a lot’, but we set out with an awareness. We think that this awareness will increase in the long run. We need to do the same for the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. Maybe we don’t see a mucilage of this intensity in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas at first as much as the Marmara, but it may occur regionally and locally in closed coves and gulfs, this is possible. But the probability of this is much higher in the Marmara Sea. The probability of recurrence of mucilage in the coming years is much higher,” he said.
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