Türkiye expands Mediterranean marine protection effort

MUĞLA

Türkiye will remove 16.2 million cubic meters of seabed sludge from the Gulf of Fethiye under a new marine protection drive, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said on Sept. 7.

The work will be carried out as part of the Zero Waste Blue project, which Kurum described as the largest environmental protection campaign launched in the Mediterranean.

Kurum said the accumulated sludge threatened the marine ecosystem in Fethiye.

Authorities will also put a controlled mooring buoy system into operation, allowing boats to secure themselves without dropping anchor on the seabed.

“We are introducing the mooring buoy system, which will protect seagrass meadows and eliminate the need to drop anchor,” Kurum said in a social media post.

The system is also intended to prevent unregulated mooring and organize boat traffic in the area.

The ministry announced in June that two additional dredging vessels had been assigned to the Fethiye operation as it expanded seabed cleanup work beyond İzmit Bay.