Roche and ADYSK Launch Major Project for the Sea of Marmara

Roche Pharmaceuticals Turkey and the Adalar Sea Life and Sports Club Association (ADYSK) have launched Turkey's first coral transplantation operation as part of the "Let the Seas Come to Life" project, designed to preserve the Marmara Sea with all its hidden treasures for future generations. The project, initiated to protect biodiversity in the Marmara Sea, marks Turkey's first coral transplantation operation. The scientific component is supported by TUBITAK, with the project implemented through the voluntary cooperation of Istanbul University and ADYSK. Within the project scope, corals facing extinction in the waters off the Islands were successfully transferred through propagation to the waters around Neandros, also known as Rabbit Island, with a 90 percent success rate. The "Let the Seas Come to Life" project also took important steps in cleaning ghost nets that pose vital threats to underwater organisms. Through diving operations conducted for the project, which has enabled the cleaning of thousands of square meters of ghost nets from the Marmara Sea, underwater distances of 8,000 meters have been covered to date. Globally, an estimated 640,000 tons of ghost nets are left in the seas annually.

Roche Pharmaceuticals Turkey General Director Natasa Klicko: "Sustainability is an integral part of Roche's operations, which have worked to improve lives for over 120 years. The foundation of our cooperation with ADYSK lies in our vision to conduct all our activities within a framework of respect for ecological balance.

The "Let the Seas Come to Life" project is also an indication that we focus on unmet needs not only in our business but also in our understanding of corporate responsibility. We want to advance the steps we are taking for the sustainability of life diversity in the Marmara Sea. Through the training provided by ADYSK and the voluntary participation of our employees, we aim to maximally support the translocation of corals to areas without human activity, the removal of ghost nets, coastal and seabed cleaning, and awareness activities." he said. Adalar Sea Life and Sports Club Association Chairman Volkan Narcı: "As an association, due to our position in the islands known as the Prince Islands in the Marmara Sea, one of the world's most special inland seas, we have prioritized the protection of the ecosystem in the Marmara Sea and the Islands region. Through our work with Roche Pharmaceuticals Turkey as part of the "Let the Seas Come to Life" project, we are pleased to have successfully transferred 300 corals from the waters around the Islands region to areas where they can survive around Neandros, also known as Rabbit Island. In addition to the coral translocation operation, which we are continuing with a success rate of over 90 percent, we have removed thousands of square meters of ghost nets from around the Islands and continued our fight against this silent threat to the underwater world. Nets used for fishing purposes around the Islands and caught on rocky seabeds or drifting uncontrollably after breaking threaten the survival of many marine organisms, including corals, by causing their death." he stated.

Associate Professor Dr. Nur Eda Topçu Eryalçın, Faculty Member of the Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Istanbul University: "The number of people who even know that corals exist in the Marmara Sea is quite small.

Yet it is precisely here that special coral communities exist, and they have extremely important effects on the functioning of the ecosystem. If current conditions such as rising sea surface temperatures, resulting seawater expansion, overfishing, pollution, and invasive species continue, and we fail to take necessary measures against them, we will put these organisms and the underwater life that depends on them at risk. Over the past 20 years, mass losses ranging up to 90 percent have been recorded in coralline reefs, one of the Mediterranean's most important habitats, including the coral communities in the Prince Islands, due to positive temperature anomalies. The disappearance of corals means reduced complexity and consequently decreased species diversity and significant habitat loss. We all bear responsibility for preventing all of this, and we hope that through the "Let the Seas Come to Life" project we can raise awareness in this direction." he said.