Smooth sailing, clear waters: Mucilage cleared from Marmara Sea

Mid-June Turkey started their efforts to clean the sea with a 22-point action plan to clear parts of the Marmara Sea in the country's northwest.

While the marine mucilage, also dubbed "sea snot," is not hazardous and does not show toxic properties, it was an eyesore.

The sea snot – mostly accumulated in Mudanya, Gemlik Bay, Gebze and its surroundings, the coastal areas of Istanbul's Anatolian side and around the Princes' Islands – also partially covered the shores of the Marmara Sea.

It did threaten the flora and fauna of the sea, so Turkey pumped oxygen into the sea to alleviate the effect of the mucilage.

A few boats on the coast of Bostancı in Istanbul.

A view of the Bostancı shore before and after the cleaning of the mucilage.

A row of boats parked at the Caddebostan pier in Istanbul.

A view from the Caddebostan shore towards the Princes' Islands.

People walking along the Bostancı shoreline before and after the mucilage was cleared.