Turkish President Vows to Save Sea from 'Sea Snot' Outbreak

A huge mass of marine mucilage, a thick, slimy substance made up of compounds released by marine organisms, has bloomed in Turkey's Marmara. (Getty Images)
A huge mass of marine mucilage, a thick, slimy substance made up of compounds released by marine organisms, has bloomed in Turkey's Marmara. (Getty Images)
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Turkish President Vows to Save Sea from 'Sea Snot' Outbreak

A huge mass of marine mucilage, a thick, slimy substance made up of compounds released by marine organisms, has bloomed in Turkey's Marmara. (Getty Images)
A huge mass of marine mucilage, a thick, slimy substance made up of compounds released by marine organisms, has bloomed in Turkey's Marmara. (Getty Images)

Turkey’s president promised Saturday to rescue the Marmara Sea from an outbreak of “sea snot” that is alarming marine biologists and environmentalists.

A huge mass of marine mucilage, a thick, slimy substance made up of compounds released by marine organisms, has bloomed in Turkey's Marmara, as well as in the adjoining Black and Aegean Seas.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said untreated waste dumped into the Marmara Sea and climate change had caused the sea snot bloom. Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with some 16 million residents, and five other provinces, factories and industrial hubs border the sea.

Marine mucilage has reached unprecedented levels this year in Turkey. It is visible above the water as a slimy gray sheet along the shores of Istanbul and neighboring provinces. Underwater videos showed suffocated coral covered with sea snot.

Erdogan said he instructed the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to coordinate with relevant institutions, municipalities and universities. Teams are inspecting waste water and solid waste facilities, along with other potential sources of pollution, he said.

“We will save our seas from this mucilage calamity, leading with the Marmara Sea,” Erdogan said. “We must take this step without delay.”

Marine experts say that human waste and industrial pollution is choking Turkey’s seas. They say the rise in water temperatures from climate change is contributing to the problem.



Large Sinkhole Appears in English Village, Forces Evacuations 

18 February 2025, United Kingdom, Godstone: A view of the scene in Godstone after a sinkhole appeared on Monday night. (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/dpa)
18 February 2025, United Kingdom, Godstone: A view of the scene in Godstone after a sinkhole appeared on Monday night. (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/dpa)
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Large Sinkhole Appears in English Village, Forces Evacuations 

18 February 2025, United Kingdom, Godstone: A view of the scene in Godstone after a sinkhole appeared on Monday night. (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/dpa)
18 February 2025, United Kingdom, Godstone: A view of the scene in Godstone after a sinkhole appeared on Monday night. (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/dpa)

A large sinkhole has appeared in a southern English village, swallowing up at least one garden and forcing authorities to evacuate residents from around 30 homes.

The development of the sinkhole in the Surrey village of Godstone, which appeared on Monday and had grown to at least 20 meters on Tuesday, has been declared a major incident by local agencies.

The BBC said the evacuated properties were built about three years ago, on the site of a former sand quarry. One of the residents, Noosh Miri, said her family was among those evacuated.

"We got a violent knocking on the door," Miri said. "As I opened the door, it sounded like I was in a waterfall because the sinkhole was right in front of my doorstep."

Another resident, Rez Mira, told the BBC his garden fell into the sinkhole: "It's collapsed, the wall will come down, for sure... we're terrified."

Surrey County Council (SCC) said investigations were ongoing, and asked people to avoid the area while work was carried out. Residents from within the cordon were being supported with advice around accommodation, the council said.

"The Local Resilience Forum will continue to meet throughout this incident to ensure everything is being done to resolve the situation as quickly and safely as possible," said SCC's Carl Bussey.

SES Water said in the early hours of Tuesday it was aware of a burst water main pipe in Godstone High Street. It said on Wednesday it had been able to restore supplies to affected properties. Electricity has also been restored.