Turkey Removes 3 Million Square Meters Of Ghost Nets

Turkey has initiated a project to clean abandoned or lost fishing gear, known as 'ghost nets,' from marine and inland waters. The initiative aims to protect aquatic ecosystems by removing these hazardous tools. Over the past eleven years, approximately 3 million square meters of ghost nets have been removed from the seas. The project has already scanned 805 million square meters of marine area. This effort targets the environmental damage caused by discarded fishing equipment. The initiative prevented the deaths of 8,448 aquatic animals and supported the release of over 83.7 million juvenile fish into marine and inland waters last year. In 2025, authorities conducted 207,371 inspections, resulting in the seizure of 550 tons of seafood, 2,394 fishing tools, and 84 fishing vessels.