Istanbul’s Sea Snot Crisis: Algal Bloom Threatens Marmara’s Waters

As summer heats Istanbul’s shores, a slimy menace dubbed “sea snot” plagues the Sea of Marmara. This noxious algal bloom has forced local authorities into action, battling to protect the world’s smallest sea.

On Burgazada, one of Istanbul’s car-free islands, artist and swimmer Koenraad Marinus van der Lier mourns the loss of his daily swims. The Sea of Marmara, a serene embrace around the island, transforms each summer as mucilage blankets its waters. “It’s like a bathtub,” van der Lier explains, highlighting the sea’s vulnerability due to its semi-enclosed nature, with only the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits as narrow outlets to the Black Sea and Aegean Sea.








The dense population and heavy industrialization around Marmara exacerbate the issue, trapping pollutants and fostering marine mucilage. Even in late April, as cold poyraz winds blow, the early signs of sea snot disrupt the island’s tranquil off-season, where birdsong and pine-scented breezes usually reign. With tourism set to surge, Istanbul faces an urgent fight to clean its waters and save its seas. Read more>>