More than 350 square metres of ghost net has been retrieved by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry’s Fisheries Department in Türkiye as part of the project “Cleaning the Seas from Abandoned Fishing Vehicles Project.”
The department announced on Saturday, November 5 that the waters around the Dardanelles Strait and the islands of Bozcaada (or Tenedos) and Gökçeada (or Imbros) had been cleared with the help of divers from the Turkish Coast Guard Command.
Started in 2014, the project aims to protect the habitats of fish and other sea life, prevent uncontrolled hunting caused by abandoned fishing gear, reduce biological and economic losses and revitalise fishing activities.
Dives were made in 41 locations in total, especially in the Dardanelles Strait, the surroundings of islands, and the areas opening to the Marmara Sea.
According to Erdem Karadağ, the Provincial Director of the ministry the nets and fishing gear that were abandoned in the seas due to ground structure, weather conditions, net conflict or usage errors during aquaculture fishing.
He added: “As a result of these dives, an area of 500,000 square meters was scanned, where we brought a ghost net of around 20,000 square meters out of the sea,” he added.
Environmentalists will welcome the ministry’s efforts with more than 350 square metres of ghost net retrieved during this round of ongoing work to clean coastal areas.
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