Marine life returns to İzmit Bay as massive cleanup hits 70 pct: Minister
KOCAELİ
More than 70 percent of the ambitious seabed restoration project in Türkiye’s northwestern İzmit Bay has been completed, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum announced after inspecting the underwater cleanup site through a dive operation.
The inspection followed the completion of the second phase of a seabed cleaning project, launched in 2022 under the Marmara Sea Action Plan in cooperation with Kocaeli Municipality. The initiative was introduced in the aftermath of the severe mucilage outbreak that affected the Marmara Sea and is regarded by authorities as one of the largest environmental restoration efforts of its kind.
Speaking to reporters after the dive, Kurum said visible ecological recovery is already underway. “Today, with great satisfaction, we saw that seagrass, starfish, sea cucumbers and the local ecosystem are coming back to life on the seabed,” he said. “The sea has begun to breathe again.”
