Turkey's Marmara Island Ghost‑net Cleanup Removes Two Football‑field‑sized Nets

A joint operation by the Marine Life Protection Association and Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry removed extensive ghost‑net debris from the waters around Marmara Island in the Sea of Marmara. Using the citizen‑reporting “Mavi Atlas” mobile app, divers identified six hotspot locations and, over four days, extracted roughly 15,000 m² of ghost nets, 200 m² of misina net, 225 kg of lead weights, 30 m of rope and 50 m of trawl‑gate rope – an area the officials said equals about two football fields and could have covered the Çamlıca Tower. Hundreds of marine creatures trapped in the nets were rescued, including a crab with its eggs and numerous fish, sea stars, sea urchins and squid eggs; many that had been trapped for a long time were found dead. The recovered material will be recycled into sunglasses featuring marine‑life motifs. The operation highlights the growing use of digital reporting tools to combat marine pollution in Turkey.