Turkish teams collect over 700 cubic meters of mucilage

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish sea-cleaning teams have so far collected over 733 cubic meters (25,886 cubic feet) of mucilage from the Sea of Marmara over the past three days, officials said on Friday.

"We are working on a 24/7 basis with all our teams to save our Sea of Marmara from visual pollution and bad odor," Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said on Twitter.

Noting that efforts under a recent action plan to clear the sea of the substance, also known as "sea snot," were ongoing at 52 locations, Kurum said that a total of 733.1 cubic meters of mucilage had been sent to disposal, including 341.1 cubic meters collected and sent for disposal on Thursday.

"We continued to clean our Sea of Marmara by collecting a total of 733.1 cubic meters of mucilage, including 174.6 cubic meters in Istanbul, 77.5 in Kocaeli, 63 in Bursa, 28 in Tekirdag, 114 in Balikesir, 118 in Canakkale and 158 cubic meters in Yalova," he added.

Turkish authorities on Sunday announced the 22-point Marmara Sea Action Plan to clear a recent surge in mucilage covering the surface of parts of the Sea of Marmara in the country's northwest.