Saying that the biggest threats to marine ecosystems are pollution, climate change and alien species, Prof. Dr. Bayram Öztürk, Head of the Marine Biology Department of İstanbul University’s Faculty of Aquatic Sciences and President of TÜDAV, warned that the Black Sea could become the Mediterranean. Prof. Dr. Bayram Öztürk is the guest of this month’s MarineDeal News interview. Sharing a lot of valuable information, Öztürk said: “There is a Red Sea in the Mediterranean. You do not have to go there to dive in the Red Sea. Go to Kaş, everything you will see in the Red Sea is there now”
How important is international cooperation for the protection of marine ecosystems around the world? How can this cooperation be strengthened?
“International cooperation is extremely important. Because the bodies of water we call the sea are shared by many countries. Water is not static like land. For example, if pollution is here today, it can be seen in another country tomorrow and in another country the next day. What happens in one ocean can spread to another ocean very quickly. For this reason, there are big organizations around the world. Apart from the International Maritime Organization, there are also the Barcelona Convention in the Mediterranean and the Bucharest Convention in the Black Sea. Maritime business is a completely international business. Therefore, international organizations are also involved in this business, they should be, they are important.”
What are the biggest threats facing marine ecosystems in the future and how can we take measures against these threats?
“There are 3 main problems that marine ecosystems will face in the future. The first is pollution, the second is climate change and the third is alien species. New species are constantly entering the world’s oceans and seas. Measures need to be taken for these three problems. Illegal fishing needs to be prevented. Every country needs to do this. Again, it is a job with an international leg. Second, pollution. Let’s say if you want to dump the water from the Fukushima Atomic Power Plant into the ocean, the Koreans and the Chinese objected. They said it would kill our fisheries. So pollution is a serious problem. Third, alien species. Alien species are more related to climate change. Climate change, more precisely, as the sea water temperature increases, the entry of foreign species increases. Of course, we know that while the sea water temperature should remain at 1.5 degrees Celsius today, it has exceeded 2.5 degrees Celsius in many parts of the Mediterranean. Therefore, this is a serious problem. There are basic things that need to be done to prevent it. Research needs to be done. For example, how much climate change affects us. We are already working on this issue as the Turkish Marine Education Foundation (TÜDAV). We need to know what the distribution of alien species is and we need to talk about sustainable fisheries.
Not all alien species are invasive. There are over a hundred alien species in the Marmara Sea, but not all of them are invasive. Seven of them are species that can be called invasive. We should be more concerned about the Black Sea, not the Marmara Sea. For example, it has been revealed through our studies that pufferfish are in the Black Sea. This shows that if puffer fish come from the Indian Ocean originating from the Red Sea and settle in the Black Sea, this indicates that the Black Sea is warming. This shows that the Black Sea is becoming Mediterraneanized.”
As a scientist, how hopeful are you about the future of marine ecosystems?
“My nature is always to be hopeful. I believe in hope. We cannot be hopeless. So I always have hope. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have hope. I am in the 40th year of my career. We are going to do a lot of marine research and marine conservation. We will pass this on to our children. That is why I have hope.
How can we make the younger generations aware of marine conservation?
“Firstly, we can raise awareness through marine education. Secondly, we need to publish a lot of books for children. From coloring books to children’s books on how to protect the oceans. We can do programs on television. They can learn about it through the press. Education is the basis of the work, but schools play a big role in educating children. That is why we attach great importance to marine protection and marine education. One of the European projects that TÜDAV received this year was Ocean Literacy Training. Since last year, we have been providing this free online and zoom-based training. The training is for adults as well as children. Our training has been going on for two years and we are doing it in partnership with the Ocean Institute in Malta through the International Ocean Institute.
How can CSOs help protect the oceans?
“One of the best things that NGOs can do is to contribute to education. Going to schools and giving seminars, opening courses. To create mass awareness about marine conservation. There are organizations in Türkiye that are doing that. TÜDAV, TURMEPA are among them. There are many such organizations. The Ministry of National Education should also be involved. In fact, it should prepare a curriculum on marine conservation. If that happens, we can move forward faster. But in any case, young people must be active in protecting the seas. Digital media also makes our job a little easier. Because a lot of people can be reached through digital media. If you say marine conservation and put up a photo, people look at what it is and learn about it. Maybe there will be negative and ridiculous comments on the post, but at least if there is something in the sea, it will be clear what it is. For example, we recently complained about someone who tied a boat to one of the buoys we put in the Bosporus. They removed the boats from there. We have people who complain, but they usually don’t do anything. Every citizen has to protect his rights. We have to complain and petition for basic rights, especially the protection of the seas and coasts. Very few people file petitions in Türkiye.
Are the problems experienced in Türkiye’s seas common problems in marine ecosystems around the world?
“They are common problems because ocean acidification exists in all oceans. The decrease in pH is present in all oceans. The increase in seawater temperature is present in all oceans. Microplastic pollution exists in all oceans. But certain countries are acting more quickly against it. For example, the European Union (EU) now says that it will not allow the sale of nylon on the street, in the market and in the market. This is a measure. For example, we are not there again. Bags and straws are banned in Europe. But we have them in our markets. We also need to follow this method. Because I guess so many countries in the EU are not making a mistake by abolishing plastic bags. Therefore, we need to pay attention to this plastic garbage issue. Even though the zero waste policy is being implemented, plastics are still being sold. If the seller in the market was more conscious, he would say come with a cloth bag instead of giving plastic bags. But our people are not that conscious. Most of them are not even intellectual groups. You look at them, they are dressed very well, but they are in touch with plastic. But if you ask them, they will save the whole world. Therefore, plastic is a serious issue and we need to take measures in this regard. I believe that we should walk the same path with the EU on this issue.”
What are the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems around the world and how do these impacts affect Türkiye?
“We published a book called Climate Change and its Impacts on Türkiye’s Seas together with METU from the Turkish Marine Research Foundation. You can look at the most sensitive and fragile areas of Türkiye’s seas from there. Climate change is a serious issue. There is climate change in Türkiye’s seas and an increase in sea water temperature. This has an impact on sea creatures. Certain species may die, their distribution may change, and certain species may become stressed.”
What is being done worldwide to establish and manage marine protected areas? What would you suggest for Türkiye in this regard?
“The new motto all over the world is 30×30. 30 percent of the world’s seas and coasts should be under protection by 2030. The EU is supporting this. Many countries are involved in this. We need to follow this method. Our marine protected areas, the Marmara Sea was declared a protected area in 2021. It is currently over 10 percent. But not 30 percent. We need to get there too. Therefore, we need to declare more protected areas. And if you ask where they should be declared, I would say the Black Sea. Because the Marmara Sea has been declared a protected area. We have places and protected areas in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, but there are none in the Black Sea. Bulgaria has 200 km of protected areas, Romania 280 km. Georgia has 160 km of protected areas, but Türkiye, which has a Black Sea coast of 1780 km, has no protected areas. I am not talking about nature reserves or nature parks, I am talking about marine protected areas. Therefore, Türkiye needs to declare marine protected areas in the Black Sea. And not just one, but several. Fishing in the Black Sea region of Türkiye is already in a major crisis. Look at the tiny whiting. There are discussions about quota fishing for anchovies. Bluefish are scarce, we know the situation of bonito and tequila. Therefore, fishing in the Black Sea is in a great crisis compared to 30 years ago. Protected areas are a good thing for us to revive this, so to speak.
What lessons can our country learn from successful conservation projects in other seas?
“There are also successful conservation projects in Turkish seas. For example, there are protected areas in the Aegean Sea. These need to be increased. Türkiye needs to increase its marine protected areas.
What can you say about the carbon storage capacity of the oceans?
“The carbon sequestration capacity of the oceans varies, but what determines their carbon sequestration capacity is the seagrass beds in certain regions. If there are seagrass meadows, the oceans can store more carbon, and if they do, it is a good thing for climate change. Because it reduces carbon dioxide. The capacity of the oceans to hold carbon is not infinite.
How widespread are sustainable fishing practices around the world? What should be done to transition to sustainable fishing in Türkiye?
“Fishing cooperatives in Türkiye are trying to do something about fishing. They are doing small-scale fishing, and government institutions are also encouraging them. Now the state is buying back some fishing boats by giving them money. This is a good system. 30 years ago they gave boats because there was a lot of fish, now they buy them back because there is no fish. So the issue of sustainable fishing is serious. It is about reducing fleet pressure and protecting fish stocks. That protects sustainability. The whole world is now trying to fish sustainably. So you cannot catch too much. Hunting has been replaced by aquaculture. Now there is more fish farming. Aquaculture is also important. If you want to eat fish in the summer, you will eat sea bass and sea bream. If they were not there, they would balance the market. If they were not there, horse mackerel would be 500 liras.
What are the impacts of marine tourism on marine ecosystems?
“Marine tourism has two types of impacts. Grey water and black water that is discharged into the sea from the galleys and bilges of ships. These waters need to be sent to treatment plants in due time. Studies are being conducted on this. For yachts, the Blue Card system has been introduced. They come and take your sewage, of course you pay money for it. But the dangerous thing is what they do after they take the waste from the boat. Do they really take it to the waste transfer station or do they dump it somewhere else? What happens after it goes to the receiving facility? Does it decompose or not… I have serious doubts about that. So the question you asked is a serious question. This issue will be discussed more in Türkiye. Because the number of boats in Türkiye is increasing. This is a little bit of a cost issue. So they have to change the systems of the boats. That means money. We want to earn more money, but we also want nature and the sea to pay the bill. Then we say the sea is polluted, we cannot go in, there are no fish, we cannot eat them. This is a contradiction for us. That is why the state has to control it.
Is the loss of biodiversity observed in the Sea of Marmara part of the global biodiversity crisis? How is this loss related to climate change?
“The reason for the algal blooms in the Sea of Marmara is land-based pollution. It has nothing to do with ship-based pollution. It is the discharge of untreated water from the land into the sea. Roughly speaking, excess nutrients and nitrogen accumulate in the sea and are used by plankton. Sewage must be treated to prevent slime. Untreated water should not be discharged into the sea. This requires monitoring. But slime was not only seen here. It was seen and is still seen in the North Sea, it was seen and is still seen in the Adriatic Sea, but this should not make us feel comfortable. The Marmara Sea is our bedroom. Every part of it belongs to us and we should look at it like the inside of our eyes. Marmara Sea is our private sea and we have to protect it. Declaring it a special environmental protection zone will change many things. We have been talking about slime for 30 years, now there is no need to talk about it. The slime has arrived and everyone knows it. So it is a matter of a thousand opinions. Is it good or not? But it is also a fact that everyone is interested in the protection of the Marmara Sea. There is a possibility that we will see slime in the future, but I do not know when. Some professors come out and say it will happen at that time, but it is not happening. If it were me, I would be ashamed if what I said did not happen. You should be a little ashamed, you should not speak without knowledge. This is a little moral problem. You can write it in the paper tomorrow, but what happens if it does not happen? There is no punishment for that except that it is morally wrong information. Journalists are also guilty, but…There will be slime, but it is difficult to say when. The loss of biodiversity in the Marmara Sea is completely related to us. It has nothing to do with the loss of biodiversity in the world. This is our fault. If we can protect many species, it will be good for the Marmara. Recently, 18 species of sharks and 12 species of corals have been protected as a result of TÜDAV’s studies. In other words, this is an important development for us. So we all have to make an effort.
Have the municipalities and state institutions taken measures in accordance with the scientists’ recommendations to prevent such negative situations from recurring after the mucilage?
“There is a committee for the Sea of Marmara and this committee is working. But how effectively is this committee working… Let’s not forget that we need to do biological treatment so that untreated water is not thrown into the sea for treatment. That means money and finance. If there is no money and finance, things will stop. I am in favor of collecting a Marmara Sea Tax for the Marmara Sea and İstanbul only from tourists who come to use it for this purpose and from those who live on the coast. After it is collected, there should be transparency and clarity about how much has been collected and what has been done. Otherwise, people will think of other things. Let’s not forget that the Europeans spent billions of dollars to clean up the Danube. We still cannot say that the Danube has been fully rehabilitated. The French spent 1.4 billion dollars on the Seine River during the Olympics. All those who swam got cholera. Some had diarrhea, some had red spots on their bodies and were infected. So it is not that simple. You spend 1.4 billion dollars even for the Seine River, but you can’t succeed. This is a lot of money for Marmara and there is no such money. So we will be realistic. I know they will curse me a lot, but I think a special Marmara tax is necessary. This tax will be paid by the people who live around Marmara and the tourists who come. This money should be collected in a verifiable pool and checked transparently. It should not be like an earthquake tax. If this happens, we will walk more. If there is money, we can do the cleaning faster.
Are the efforts to protect the dolphin population in the Sea of Marmara yielding results?
“Our friends regularly participate in these efforts every year. Efforts are being made. I cannot say the exact number, but I know that the count has been done twice”.
Are efforts to raise awareness among fishermen in Türkiye to prevent overfishing and the resulting decline in fish stocks yielding results?
“This is actually a question that directly concerns cooperatives, but cooperatives are weak in Türkiye. Fishermen’s cooperatives need to be strong. For example, in many parts of the world there are big cooperative banks. Cooperatives are very weak in Türkiye, so their voice is not heard. Therefore, they do not benefit their members and no one takes them seriously. Cooperatives must be strengthened. They should be given authority and they should supervise their own members. In this way, they can help raise awareness. Many fishermen’s shelters and cooperatives in Türkiye need to be much better. The infrastructure needs to be strong, the shelters need to be clean and modern. These are missing. The system needs to be strong. “
What kind of work is being done for our country within the framework of the Svalbard Convention, which Türkiye recently joined?
“I don’t think that being a member of the Svalbard Agreement should be made too big. What is important is that we are a member of the Arctic Council. Are you a member of the Arctic Council or not, an observer or not? So it’s good to be a member of the Svalbard Agreement, but it shouldn’t be made too big. Of course it is necessary to work in this region.
What kind of contributions have the Arctic expeditions conducted on behalf of Türkiye made to scientific studies in our country?
“Scientific articles need to be written in Arctic studies. I think that there are very few articles written about the Arctic and Antarctic in Türkiye. I think there is a great loss of money, especially about Antarctica. I took Turks to Antarctica for the first time in 2015-16-17. We need to be a consulting country, especially about Antarctica. But we are not yet a consulting country there. In order to be a consulting country, there is a condition of conducting scientific research. The personnel and researchers who go to Antarctica must write proper articles and conduct research. If they do not do research, the government money will go away, and we will sit there in second place, not being an advising country. But the first place is the gentlemen’s club. The club of those who run Antarctica. We have to get in there. That should be our goal. I do not see anything related to this, so I am sorry. They want you to do research to solve a problem in Antarctica. Our expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic are more for show. I feel sorry for that.
Pufferfish in the Black Sea: Concrete evidence of climate change
Are the steps taken in recent years to prevent invasive species, particularly in the Mediterranean, from threatening local species, and what can be done for more drastic solutions?
“There are more than a thousand species in the Mediterranean. Our Directorate-General for Fisheries supports the fishermen. This is a very good thing. The EU also gives money from its own budget. But the EU does not give it to us, it gives it to its members. So what is the source of the problem? Egypt is constantly widening the Suez Canal. For example: Your neighbor upstairs took a big bath and broke everything. The water is flowing into my bedroom from above. Nothing happens to the upstairs neighbor, but I have to clean it because there is a constant flow. This means that species coming from the Red Sea are widening the Suez Canal so that Egypt can make more money. So that more tankers and cruise ships can go through. So species coming from the Red Sea go into the Mediterranean as if they were going over Niagara Falls. Who is in the Mediterranean? Israel on one side, Lebanon, Syria, Türkiye, Cyprus, Greece on the other. So these countries in the Eastern Mediterranean are losing money. What is our fault? They are making money up there. So we think that Egypt is violating the biodiversity agreement. I have studies on this. Egypt is violating the Convention on Biological Diversity. This means that if you are going to open a new canal, if you are going to expand the canal, you will calculate the environmental impact and you will not harm your neighbors. Egypt is not doing that and nobody is saying anything. It comes and goes. There is another Mediterranean Sea within the Mediterranean Sea. There is a Red Sea in the Mediterranean. There is no more need to go to the Red Sea to dive there. Go to Kaş, everything you see in the Red Sea is there now. This is not a good thing. Because it destroys the local species. There are citizens who go to the hospital because of pufferfish and poisonous jellyfish. There are a lot of problems, it is not a good thing. Some friends say how beautiful colorful fish have arrived, they are very good for diving, but if we look at the scale, we are not making a profit, we are making a loss. There are species that are now endangered. This is a very bad thing. There are studies in Türkiye about this. There are books about foreign jellyfish and foreign fish. We have published them as TÜDAV. There is a website called Yayakarsa.org. Let’s say you are on vacation and you see a jellyfish, you report it. We check if it is a new species or an old species by the photos you upload to the site. The site gives you information about what species it is. We can also research it. It is very useful for us to understand the progress.
What are you doing to develop marine and maritime awareness in our country? Are there any shortcomings in our education system in this regard?
“TÜDAV provides marine education to develop marine awareness. This is a 3-legged system. Protection, research and education. Coloring books should be printed for children and we have over 70 books. We have been publishing an English magazine 3 times a year for 26 years. TÜDAV is an institution with an academic side. We try to do very serious work. Of course, there are shortcomings in the education system. In my heart, I want the Ministry of National Education (MEB) to have a separate section on the sea in its books. The MEB is in the forefront. I also have children.
What are the urgent decisions that need to be taken to save the Marmara Sea?
“A monitoring and research project must be carried out. A conservation action plan must be made. This is being done. I am carrying out a project on behalf of the General Directorate of Nature Parks in the Sea of Marmara regarding biodiversity”.
What decisions need to be taken urgently to save the Sea of Marmara?
“A monitoring and research project must be carried out. A conservation action plan needs to be made. This is being done. I am conducting a biodiversity project in the Sea of Marmara on behalf of the General Directorate of Nature Parks.
The ecosystems of all the seas in our country, especially the Sea of Marmara, are under threat. How do you explain the fact that the scientists who are trying to prevent this situation are mostly alone in their efforts?
“It is certainly not good for scientists to be alone. There is also this: I wonder how much scientists can be useful to society. There are 21 faculties of aquatic sciences, 10 faculties of marine sciences, a few shipbuilding faculties, a few environmental engineering faculties, and a few maritime faculties in Türkiye. If you add them all up, there are at least 200 professors. It is normal for professors to be alone. We need to go out into the field more. We have to make more efforts. It is not only theoretical work. We have to go out to sea more. We have to shout. For example, why did you come to me? You didn’t go to others, you came to me. We have to shout. Shouting breaks loneliness. We have to shout and ask for support from society so that we don’t have to be alone. The website Yayakarsa.org is a good example. As TÜDAV, we are planning to take journalists to the sea once a month in October. We will give everyone an equal chance. We need to see the bottom of the sea to know how much the temperature of the sea water has increased in the last 50 years. We have invested in this.
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