Editing Sea of Marmara (section)

==Environmental challenges==
The [[North Anatolian Fault]] runs under the sea and has triggered several major [[earthquake]]s, such as the [[1999 İzmit earthquake|Izmit]] and [[1999 Düzce earthquake|Düzce]] in August and November 1999 respectively. The August 1999 earthquake is commonly referred to as the [[Marmara Earthquake]] since its epicentre lay under the Sea and most of the places worst affected by the quake and ensuing [[tsunami]] lay along its shores.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marmara earthquake: 20 years on |date=16 August 2019 |url=https://www.ifrc.org/article/marmara-earthquake-20-years |access-date=2022-08-01 |publisher=IFRC}}</ref>

In a storm on 29 December 1999, the Russian [[oil tanker]] {{MV|Volgoneft-248||2}} broke in two in the Sea of Marmara, spilling more than 1,500 tonnes of oil into the water.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Otay |first1=Emre N. |last2=Yenigün |first2=Orhan |title=The Volgoneft-248 Oil Spill in the Marmara Sea |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237745806 |website=[[ResearchGate]] |access-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025103705/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237745806_The_Volgoneft-248_Oil_Spill_in_the_Marmara_Sea |archive-date=Oct 25, 2022 |date=January 2001 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The main cities in Turkey, especially Istanbul, the largest city, are around the Marmara Sea, a small inland sea. Despite its limited size, the basin is home to about one-third of the country's population. Rapid population growth and uncontrolled construction in this area have put heavy pressure on the sea. For many years, waste was dumped into the Marmara Sea with little or no treatment, surpassing the sea's ability to handle it. As a result, many species in the sea have disappeared, and fishing was banned in the "East Bay" of the Marmara Sea for years due to severe pollution.
One of the most serious environmental problems in the Marmara Sea in recent years has been mucilage, a thick, sticky substance that appears for up to six months. The mucilage outbreak began in January 2021 and lasted until June 2021. It caused habitat loss, economic issues, and disrupted vital ecosystem services, such as fishing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Albay |first1=Meriç |title=Mucilage Problem in the Sea of Marmara |date=2023 |publisher=Istanbul University Press |isbn=978-605-07-1304-6}}</ref>