İstanbul Artificial Reef Project

Abstract

The coasts of Turkey, especially the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, have intense economic use with activities for fishing and tourism. This situation causes problems such as fisheries management and protection of ecological balance. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the sustainable continuation of economic activities. At this point, artificial reefs are used as a tool both to protect the ecological balance, to manage fisheries and to support marine tourism activities. Within the framework of the "National Artificial Reef Master Plan" prepared in 2009, the first application was carried out in 2011 in Edremit Bay, along the coastline corresponding to 12 nautical miles. The positive results of the monitoring study, which continued for 5 years after the placement period, led to the development of the idea of the Istanbul Artificial Reef project. Istanbul Artificial Reef Project is the second largest artificial reef project on the Turkish coast. Intense illegal and unregistered fishing activities in the area where the Sea of Marmara meets the Istanbul Strait not only threatens the ecological balance, but also destroys the fishing grounds used for small-scale fishing. This study has been prepared to provide information about the objectives of the Istanbul Artificial Reef Project, its planning and implementation stages, its current situation and the works to be done in the near future.