SHOTLIST: ISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE (MAY 27, 2025) (ANADOLU – ACCESS ALL) 1. UNDERWATER SHOTS OF MARMARA SEA WITH MUCILAGE (TWO SHOTS) 2. VARIOUS OF DRONE AND UNDERWATER SHOTS OF TURKISH FREE-DIVING WORLD RECORD HOLDER, SAHIKA ERCUMEN, SWIMMING 3. ***SOUNDBITE OVERLAPS WITH FOLLOWING SHOTS*** (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) ERCUMEN SPEAKING TO REPORTER: “This was the first time I came into such close contact with mucilage. It has a very strange texture — slippery, like soap foam — maybe it could even be described as sea snot. But it’s nearly impossible to get rid of. The more I tried to clean it with my hands, the more it spread, only to come back together again — almost like an indestructible organism. It’s coating everything in the water, covering all marine life. The sea can no longer breathe; it’s suffocating, it’s gasping for air. This will have major consequences not only environmentally and visually, but also in many other dimensions. I really hope that urgent action plans can be implemented to save our seas. The oceans are truly drowning right now — I witnessed this firsthand. In recent years, I was used to seeing waste in the water or coming across it underwater. But now, this has gone beyond that. The sea is literally screaming that it can’t breathe anymore, sending us a message in the form of mucilage. What we see on the surface is only a part of it. The underwater is much more severely affected. Imagine a ghost city covered in a thick fog — that’s what it looks like underwater. And it’s not just a visual issue. It has blanketed marine life, smothering all their vital functions. If this continues, the sea won’t be able to function anymore. This isn’t just an environmental crisis — it will have massive economic and tourism-related consequences for all of us in the country. And this isn’t a problem that can be solved by governments alone. We all have a huge role to play. For example, even pouring one liter of oil down the drain pollutes thousands of liters of seawater. We have to start with ourselves. There’s so much we need to do. We need to be extremely careful about our waste. And yes, administrations must also enforce stricter monitoring and waste control. These action plans must be urgently implemented. What I saw today truly saddened and affected me. I hope we can save our seas from mucilage.” 4. VARIOUS OF DRONE AND UNDERWATER SHOTS OF ERCUMEN SWIMMING IN SEA COVERED WITH MUCILAGE 5. ***SOUNDBITES OVERLAP WITH FOLLOWING SHOTS*** VARIOUS OF PROFESSOR MUSTAFA SARI FROM BANDIRMA ONYEDI EYLUL UNIVERSITY MARINE SCIENCES SPEAKING TO REPORTER / UNDERWATER FOOTAGE SHOWING MUCILAGE DEEP IN SEA 6. ERCUMEN ON SURFACE OF SEA AS SUN SETSISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE - MAY 27, 2025: Turkish free-diving world record holder and UNDP Türkiye “Life Below Water Advocate” Sahika Ercumen has recently conducted a dive in the Marmara Sea to raise awareness of the region’s worsening mucilage crisis. "What I saw today truly saddened and affected me. I hope we can save our seas from mucilage," said Ercumen pointing to the significance of the environmental threat. Ercumen was joined by Professor Mustafa Sari from Bandirma Onyedi Eylul University Marine Sciences Faculty and diving instructor Osman Benli during her awareness dive in southern Marmara, one of the areas most affected by the phenomenon. Describing her experience underwater, Ercumen said, “This was the first time I came into such close contact with mucilage. It has a very strange texture — slippery, like soap foam. But it’s nearly impossible to get rid of. The more I tried to clean it with my hands, the more it spread, only to come back together again.” She warned that the mucilage has coated marine life and is suffocating the ecosystem. "The sea can no longer breathe; it’s gasping for air," she said. Ercumen emphasized the urgency of the crisis, not only from an environmental perspective but also in terms of the economy and public health. “What we see on the surface is only a part of it. The underwater is much more severely affected. Imagine a ghost city covered in thick fog — that’s what it looks like,” she said. Mucilage, also known as "sea snot," is an overgrowth of microscopic algae called phytoplankton and is caused by rising seawater temperatures due to global warming, stagnant water, and pollution. Mucilage, which is a part of a natural process under normal conditions, can expand excessively when the weather gets warmer in the spring months and it finds the right temperature and light. However, as in the case of the Sea of Marmara, experts say the structure of the sea, as well as intense pollution and waste, are the main reasons for such intense mucilage formation. On the solution, experts say that simply collecting mucilage on the surface will not yield definitive results. They suggest that conditions conducive to the formation of mucilage should be eliminated for a long-term solution. "This isn’t a problem governments can solve alone. We all have a huge role to play. Even pouring oil down the drain pollutes thousands of liters of seawater. We need urgent action plans, and we need to start with ourselves," said Ercumen as she called for an urgent collective action. "There’s so much we need to do. We need to be extremely careful about our waste. And yes, administrations must also enforce stricter monitoring and waste control. These action plans must be urgently implemented."