Kuzey Star's Guests in Their New Home

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Kuzey Star's Guests in Their New Home
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  • Source: HABER DENİZDE
Kuzey Star's Guests in Their New Home

Eight Pinna Nobilis (fan mussels), believed to have fled from the Mediterranean due to global warming and disease, were taken under protection following research conducted at the Yalova shipyard of Kuzey Star Shipyard. These mussels will be relocated to suitable habitats with the organization of the Yalova Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, academics from Istanbul University, and the Yalova Sea Port Branch Directorate.

SPECIES UNDER THREAT

Known as fan mussels, these creatures can only live in the seas between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Bosphorus. This large mussel species can live up to 50 years and grow up to 120 cm in length. However, they are now endangered due to a disease triggered by rising sea temperatures resulting from global climate change. This disease spread so rapidly that all Pinna Nobilis stocks between the Dardanelles and the Strait of Gibraltar perished collectively between 2016 and 2019. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed Pinna Nobilis on its red list, declaring it an endangered species.

Currently, fan mussels only survive in the Sea of Marmara. The unique structure and low salinity of the Sea of Marmara appear to have prevented the disease from causing harm for now. However, if measures are not taken, their complete extinction seems inevitable. Fan mussels filter plankton and other particles from the water for nourishment, while also filtering and cleaning the water. On average, one fan mussel filters 6 liters of seawater per hour. Therefore, fan mussels present a hope for recovery for the Sea of Marmara, whose entire ecosystem was disrupted by mucilage in 2021.