Turkey Cleans 805 Million Square Meters of Marine Debris

The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry reports that 805 million square meters of marine area were cleaned between 2014 and 2025. The project, initiated in 2014, targets the removal of abandoned or lost fishing gear from the seas. Approximately 10 million marine organisms have been saved as a result of these efforts. Officials state it may take four years for the ecosystem to fully recover its original function. Approximately 332,061 pieces of debris were removed from the sea during this period. Over 83 million juvenile fish were released back into the sea last year. Efforts to combat invasive pufferfish in the Mediterranean Sea are ongoing, with approximately 80 million pufferfish prevented from entering the ecosystem since 2020.