Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Cemil Tugay: The dead fish do not belong here, they were transported by ships.

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Cemil Tugay held a press conference and made statements about the fish deaths and strong odor in the Gulf. Tugay, who said "They do not belong here" for the dead fish, also made a striking observation about how the fish came to Izmir Gulf.

"FISH WERE TRANSPORTED BY SHIPS"

Tugay, who stated that the gulf has been polluted since 1965, said, "This is not a new situation. Over the years, domestic, industrial, and some agricultural waste has been transported to our gulf through streams. It seems like we have reached the final point. I say that we need to confront this and work together for a solution. The change in color and fish deaths in the gulf occurred with the sudden increase of a microorganism species called plankton in the sea. We can say that they were transported by ships and became dominant in the gulf due to climate change," he said.

CALL TO ALL INSTITUTIONS: LET'S COLLABORATE

Tugay, who sees the gulf pollution as a problem above politics, emphasized the need for collaboration with all institutions in the face of the environmental disaster. Tugay pointed out that the problems in Izmir Gulf have increased in the last 10 years and said, "The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure are primarily responsible for the sea and inland waters after the law and regulation change in 2000. Municipalities and other institutions have not been given the staff and intervention authority. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and IZSU cannot be executive on the gulf issue. There are millions of tons of mud accumulated in the inner gulf. If we wanted to remove this mud, the metropolitan municipality has the authority to work up to a certain meter. The authority to build a circulation channel that will change the water flow in the gulf also belongs to the ministry," he said.