Environment

Experts warn of possible annual mucilage infestation in Istanbul

Istanbul (Turkey), Jun 4 (EFE) .- (Camera: Erdem Sahin / Ilya U. Topper) A thick layer of foam and marine mucilage these days covers large parts of the coast of Istanbul and the Sea of Marmara. Due to global warming, this phenomenon, which can have serious consequences for marine life, threatens to become annual, scientists warn.FOOTAGE OF THE INFESTATIONSOUNDBITES FROM AHMET KAHRAMAN, PRESIDENT OF THE TURKEY COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERSTranslation1.- "The fecal waters that we produce provide nutrients, perhaps global warming can make it seasonal, by accelerating it and creating more favorable conditions. Today and tomorrow, we may continue to see mucilage, it can become something seasonal. Once we have started to see it, we will probably see it again next year, and next year as well and next year. And each year it will be a little broader. In the long term we have to control the sources of pollution. [Silence ] The tributaries must be protected, the tributaries must be protected. Technically, there are methods to intervene but they are not proven. It is necessary to observe. There are enzymes, but how to intervene with enzymes in a huge sea? Perhaps it can be done locally, on time, to cleaning, but this does not end this natural phenomenon. "