A 15,000-square-meter ghost net detected off İstanbul’s Heybeliada island has been removed from the sea.
Many marine creatures, including a juvenile fan mussel, were found dead after becoming trapped in the ghost net, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
Ghost nets are either nets discarded in the sea or intentionally left to continue passive fishing. Because they remain in the water for long periods, they turn into a deadly trap for marine life and pose a hazardous threat to the ecosystem.
The net was detected following a report made to Mobil Atlas, an application implemented by the Marine Life Protection Association and the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, Volkan Narcı, head of the association, told AA. The application was launched last year to contribute to creating Turkey’s marine biodiversity map by uploading species, depth, and location information about marine creatures to the system.
Teams arriving in the area following the report conducted an exploration using underwater cameras, which showed that the nets were stuck in rocky areas and crevices, Narcı said.
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During seven dives carried out at six different locations over four days, teams removed nearly 15,000 square meters of ghost net, 200 square meters of monofilament net, 225 kilograms of lead weights, 30 meters of rope, and 50 meters of trawl door rope.
The ghost nets removed from the sea could completely cover the nearly 390-meter-high Çamlıca Radio Tower.
Source: BIANET
