Seferihisar Deputy Mayor Fuat Gümüş Leads Protest Against Sığacık Marina Expansion

Citizens, fishermen and civil‑society groups gathered in Sığacık, Seferihisar, to oppose a planned increase in marina capacity. The rally began with a performance by the Seferihisar municipal band and continued with a walk to the Fishermen’s Shelter, where participants chanted “Deniz Bizim, Sığacık Hepimizin” (The sea is ours, Sığacık belongs to all of us).

Seferihisar Deputy Mayor Fuat Gümüş warned that the project would fill about 11,000 m³ of the bay and require roughly 162,000 t of dredging, threatening sea‑grass beds, the habitat of Mediterranean monk seals and the ecological balance of the natural harbor. He highlighted that the development would create only 13 permanent jobs, while more than 100 local fishermen depend on the bay for their livelihood. Gümüş also cited the 2020 earthquake and tsunami that struck the area, noting the lack of scientific risk assessments for future tsunamis in the project’s reports. The protest demanded that the marina expansion be halted to protect the environment and the community’s economic interests.