“Ghost Networks”, one of the biggest threats to marine life, will be recycled under the sponsorship of Şenmak Makina, which operates in the plastic machinery sector, and will be added to the national economy as secondary raw material.
With the Marmara Islands Ghost Networks Project, it is aimed to make a significant contribution to the aquatic ecosystem with a ghost net of 25 thousand square meters in the size of 95 basketball courts to be removed from 40 locations in Balıkesir Marmara Islands Region. The nets to be extracted will be recycled and brought to the national economy as secondary plastic raw material.
The Marmara Islands Ghost Networks Project, which started in July 2020 with the initiative of Hüseyin Semerci, Chairman of Şenmak Makina, takes place in 25 locations determined as a result of preliminary studies carried out with divers.
While all parameters of the studies were evaluated by Balıkesir University Faculty Members and Balıkesir Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry staff, Assoc. Dr. Dilek Türker, Fisheries Engineer Abdulkadir Ünal, Dr. The project report prepared by Ahmet Öztener and Expert Biologist Kadriye Zengin received approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
In the project, which aims to use the nets to be extracted as secondary raw materials in the industry instead of destroying them in the disposal facilities, and to bring them into the economy, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization approved for the "recycling of plastic waste to the economy in accordance with the waste codes". Ghost nets, which will be produced within the scope of Marmara Islands Ghost Networks Project, will be converted in recycling companies and used in white goods production.
640 thousand tons of ghost net are left to the seas every year
The ghost nets, which the fishermen had to drop into the sea as a result of attaching their nets to the rocks at the bottom of the sea while they were fishing, move along a long distance, drifting with the current for years and hunting everything in front of them like a killer. They are responsible for killing millions of animals every year, such as nets, sharks and seabirds, which catch small fish and attract their predators to the area. Ghost nets cause further damage by entangling living corals, drowning reefs, and attracting parasites and invasive species to reef environments.
According to the data of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization; Every year, 640 thousand tons of ghost net enter the seas, and the 100-meter ghost net causes the death of at least 300 sea creatures.
The aquatic ecosystem is under threat
Noting that the plastics used in the production of nets that stand out with their robustness are an important part of human life, Şenmak Makina Chairman of the Board Hüseyin Semerci pointed out that it can take many years to dissolve and disappear as a result of the wrong and unconscious use of plastics that add value to human life due to their superior features, He says it is to prevent plastic from becoming garbage.
Stating that they set out to contribute to the impoverished underwater life and fishing activities, Semerci said: “We will contribute to the aquatic ecosystem by removing ghost nets from 25 points in the Marmara Islands Region of Balıkesir. We will recycle and reuse the network waste to be removed from being waste. With our project, we want to both pay our debt to the sea and be an example. Approximately 40 thousand square meters of net, which we will extract with our Marmara Islands Artificial Reef Project, will be processed in a recycling facility and will be processed in a white goods manufacturer and turned into white goods, which are an integral part of our daily life. " found in the description.
Semerci: "The project should start from the Marmara Sea and spread throughout the country"
Noting that there is a huge urban pressure and transportation traffic in the Marmara Region and the Marmara Sea, which hosts more than 30 percent of the country's population, Semerci stated that ghost networks cause serious damage to the fauna and flora by covering the sea floor. With the fish population, we no longer just know that this is a very grave issue, but we also live. With our project, we want to create a national awareness in the public opinion starting from the Marmara Region. The ghost nets that have drifted in our seas for years and slaughtered all living things, pose a serious threat to our seas and the population of the species, we are the source of this problem, we must solve it. "
Marmara Islands Ghost Networks Project; It is run by the Balıkesir Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, sponsored by Şenmak Makina, with the support of Marmara Island Gündoğdu Village Development and Beautification Association.
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