The 4th International Fishing Contest, attended by amateur anglers from different provinces of Turkey and many countries, started at Gölcük Değirmendere Captains Beach. In the competition organized by Kocaeli Sportive Anglers and Nature Conservation Association with the support of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, Gölcük Municipality and Kocaeli Chamber of Shipping, Marmara Municipalities Union and Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Assoc. Dr. Tahir Buyukakin scored.
90 AMATEUR ANGLERS PARTICIPATE
The competition, attended by 90 amateur anglers from Turkey, Azerbaijan, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Netherlands and Tunisia, was attended by Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Assoc. Dr. Tahir Büyükakın, Gölcük District Governor Cengiz Karabulut, Gölcük Mayor Ali Yıldırım Sezer, Kandıra Mayor Adnan Turan, Kocaeli Sportive Anglers and Nature Conservation Association President Kadir Cihan Pestil and citizens. Contestants will try to get into the first three places in the women's and men's categories. In addition, the competitor who catches the biggest fish in the competition will also receive the trophy in a separate category.
"120 THOUSAND TONES OF SLUDGE COLLECTED IN TREATMENT FACILITIES"
Stating that the bay is starting to come alive day by day, President Büyükakın said, “You know, the seas where dolphins come from are livable seas. They come here to feed, to fish, because the diversity of fish in our sea is increasing day by day. And the cleanliness of the sea is increasing day by day. Currently, some of the wastewater is left to our seas with biological treatment and the remaining part with biological treatment. There is a difference between biological and advanced biological treatment; In one you are simply removing nitrogen. In advanced biological treatment, you remove phosphorus as well as nitrogen. Both need to be taken. As you know, we have been dealing with the mucilage issue lately. One of the causes of mucilage is the abundance of nitrogen and phosphorus in the sea. The biggest threat to mucilage is that it depletes the oxygen in the sea. In order for oxygen to rise to its former level, treatment plants must be built. 4.3 million cubic meters of domestic wastewater is discharged into the Marmara Sea per day. Unfortunately, 53 percent of this goes only with pre-treatment. We, as the Union of Municipalities of Marmara, are fighting in this regard, but the support of non-governmental organizations and our citizens is also very important. To say that 53 percent of the total water is given to the sea only with pre-treatment means this; solid and physical wastes are separated. The remaining water is discharged into the sea. That is, nitrogen and phosphorus are not removed. When you remove nitrogen and phosphorus, a lot of sludge comes out. For example, Kocaeli's contribution to the total is eight percent. At the treatment plants in Kocaeli, 120 thousand tons of sludge is produced annually.”
“My CHILDHOOD SOLD AT SEA IN EREĞLI”
Stating that 11 and a half million cubic meters of mud has accumulated at the end of the Bay with the accumulation of years, Chairman Büyükakın said, “Our friends are working on what we need to do to clean that mud from there. Hopefully, after the work of our technical people on this issue, we will start a big environmental project. I spent my childhood in the town of Ereğli, just a short distance away. I grew up in the sea. We would go to the sea in the morning and return in the evening. I can see the bottom of the sea ten meters and know that I fish there. We had a very fertile sea, but neglect over time has brought us to this point. Our sea is getting better with the works we have done now. We did a three-year program. During this time, we will convert biological treatment plants into advanced biological treatment plants. In other words, after that, the waste water whose nitrogen and phosphorus is not treated will not go to the sea. Kocaeli is the champion in this regard, and other municipalities take us as an example. We release 6 fish into the sea every year. To date, we have released a total of 24 thousand fish, including sea bream, sea bass and turbot, into the sea. I think you will keep them. I beg you, after holding them, release them back into the sea. Let them multiply, let our sea become a more fertile sea. I wish success to all the competitors," he said.
“The METROPOLITAN MADE IMPORTANT WORK FOR KEEPING THE SEA CLEAN AND FISH DIVERSITY”
Speaking at the program held on the Değirmendere Coast before the competition, Mayor of Gölcük Sezer said, “The Gulf of Izmit has started to come to life again with the projects and works of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Assoc. Dr. I would like to thank Tahir Büyükakın and his colleagues. I hope it will be a good competition, I wish success to all the competitors from afar,''he said.
“I WISH GOOD LUCK TO ALL OUR COMPETITORS”
Kadir Cihan Pestil, President of Kocaeli Sportive Anglers and Nature Conservation Association, stated that they organized various organizations in the Gulf of Izmit in order to promote the fishery and fish population of the Izmit Bay, which has come to life again as a result of the cleaning works, to contribute to its development and to support sustainable fishing. In one of our competitions, a total of 22 fish of 642 different species were caught in this area in 2019, breaking various records. After we measure the fish we catch in our competitions, we leave them where they belong in the Gulf of Izmit. We would like to thank our Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, Gölcük Municipality and Kocaeli Chamber of Shipping for their support. I wish good luck to all our competitors.
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