Studies on Marine Pollution Caused By Litters in the Marmara Sea on the Coast of Turkey

Abstract

It is aimed to contribute to the marine litter problem by revealing the main sources of marine litter. In this study, the current situation regarding the marine litter problem in the Marmara Sea has been presented and solutions have been proposed for the problem. Industrial development and population explosion are the roots of pollution in the Marmara Sea. The Marmara Sea hosts the two banks of the Bosphorus and is the home to a metropolis, Istanbul, founded in the North Eastern region of the Sea of Marmara and having the most crowd ed population of Turkey, and is the receiver of industrial and domestic wastes of this metropolis. Solid litters in the seas have land-based and marine origins. Marine litters, originate from waterfronts containing shores, piers, ports, marinas, docks and riverbanks, and regions with internal sources. In order to determine the terrestrial sources of marine litter, waste yards, untreated domestic waste water, the load of waste carried by rivers, industrial and tourism facilities operating near the shoreline must all be mapped out. It is necessary to implement integrated waste management components on marine litter and coastal cleaning and to prevent the current confusion of authority based on this. Studies on the prevention of industrial microplastics at source should be initiated and training activities should be provided for fishermen on the management of ghost nets and the capacity of the system should be developed.

Keywords: The marmara Sea, Marine litter, Microplastic, Population,Waste water

DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/7-10-11