The closing event of the EU BSB-LitOUTer project titled "Raising Public Awareness and Reducing Marine Litter to Protect the Black Sea Ecosystem" was held on the KTU DENAR-1 Research Vessel. The project was carried out jointly by four countries (Türkiye, Romania, Georgia, and Bulgaria) to reduce marine litter with the contribution of our institution as a stakeholder and led by the KTU Faculty of Marine Sciences,

The event started with the gathering of participants at our university's Çamburnu Port Sea Education Center and informing them about the LitOUTer Project. Then the KTU DENAR-1 Research Vessel departed to conduct the "Bottom Survey Activity 2nd Expedition" in order to raise awareness and reduce marine litter in the Black Sea. KTU Rector, Prof. Dr. Hamdullah ÇUVALCI, gave a speech at the event, mentioning the contributions of Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil KARAİSMAİLOĞLU and the financial support provided by UZMAR Maritime Administrative Board Chair of the Board, Noyan ALTUĞ. He stated that "This project aims to increase awareness of pollution and reduce marine litter to prevent pollution in the Black Sea. Many students, NGOs, and public institutions from the four countries involved in the project participated in the project. Today, we are completing Türkiye part of the project. At this point, the direction of the waste is also important, which will be followed within the scope of this project. I would like to thank our 10 faculty members who were involved in the project led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Coşkun ERÜZ and Türkiye Coordinator Prof. Dr. Fatma Telli KARAKOÇ."

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Coşkun ERÜZ, a faculty member of our university's Sürmene Faculty of Marine Sciences, shared the findings obtained through the LitOUTer Project with the participants while the KTU Denar-1 Research Vessel sailing at sea. In his statement as the Türkiye coordinator of the project, he drew attention to the increasing pollution in seas and reported that by 2050 there would be more plastic waste in the world's oceans than fish. He stated, "Even though the sea's surface appears clean, the bottom is incredibly dirty and continues to be polluted. We are conducting the closing event of the Türkiye part of the LitOUTer Project, which was supported within the scope of the European Union Projects that started in 2020 and ended in March 2023. We had previously shown solid waste in mountains, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas to the public. Today, we tried to show pollution in the habitat in which fish should live, the seriousness of the problem by removing waste that has been transported to the seabed, accumulated, and will remain there for around 500 years. With the garbage taken out of the sea, we intend to show a picture of how nothing we throw away disappears, goes to the bottom of the sea, accumulates and that there will be more plastic waste in the oceans than fish by 2050. We wanted to make people aware of this through the media. With this project, it is seen that even though the surface of the sea appears clean, the bottom is incredibly polluted and continues to be polluted. The main slogan of our project is 'Do Not Throw Away!' The problem starts with throwing garbage away. Then, it is impossible to solve it. Our duty as individuals is not to throw garbage into nature, even if it is just one piece." Following the words of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Coşkun ERÜZ, drainage work was initiated for the bottom scan to be carried out between Çamburnu-Sürmene. After the bottom scan mission was completed, the amount and types of waste removed during the first voyage of the KTU Denar-1 Research Vessel and the second scan were recorded and shown to the participants.

The event, which was held with the intensive participation of our academics from Türkiye and partner countries, local administrators, press members, and students interested in the subject, ended with the informing of participants and press members about long-standing waste and marine litter/solid waste, the arrival of the KTU Denar-1 Research Ship at the port, and taking a commemorative photo.

 

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