Climate change, marine pollution, invasive species and the expansion of monitoring systems are set to dominate Türkiye’s marine science agenda in 2026, following a year of intensive research activity across the country’s seas in 2025, scientists and institute heads say.
Experts underline that the coming year will prioritize the Sea of Marmara, the Turkish Straits and the Black Sea, with a strong focus on national marine climate monitoring systems, protection of critical habitats and the integration of scientific data into policy processes, particularly ahead of the COP31 climate summit.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on Monday, Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TÜDAV) President professor Bayram Öztürk said 2025 was a productive year for the foundation, during which it organized multiple workshops, published five books and continued releasing its scientific journal.
Öztürk said TÜDAV carried out research cruises with its vessels from Şile to the Sea of Marmara and from the northern Aegean to Çeşme, and also launched a new cooperation with Türkiye Iş Bankası on coral protection.
Emphasizing that the Turkish Straits and the Sea of Marmara will remain top priorities in 2026, Öztürk said, “This region’s ecosystem affects all surrounding seas, either positively or negatively. For this reason, we are determined to continue our work in the Sea of Marmara and the Straits.”
He said research on seagrass meadows and corals, key marine habitats, along with studies on mucilage, will continue next year, adding that TÜDAV will persist in calling for the designation of marine protected areas in the Black Sea, which currently has none.
On climate change, Öztürk noted that TÜDAV has been collecting oceanographic data for many years and will continue efforts to make these datasets more visible. He added that cooperation with local and regional organizations will be expanded ahead of COP31.
Öztürk also announced a new project to track migratory fish species by tagging them in the northern Aegean. Warning about the spread of invasive species driven by warming seas, he said, “The Black Sea is rapidly becoming Mediterranean-like, while the Mediterranean is becoming tropical. This poses a major threat to both seas. This process affects not only the seas but also the people living around them.”
Stressing the scale of the risk, Öztürk added, “Marine ecosystems that formed over millions of years should not be taken lightly. In the Sea of Marmara alone, more than 100 invasive marine species have already been identified.”
He said TÜDAV will intensify its work in 2026 to protect seas and ensure their sustainable use, adding, “TÜDAV continues its path not only as a Türkiye brand, but as a global brand conducting science and conservation at universal standards.”
Providing an institutional overview, professor Cem Gazioğlu, director of Istanbul University’s Institute of Marine Sciences and Management, described 2025 as a year in which climate change impacts on Türkiye’s seas began to be addressed more systematically.
Gazioğlu said, “For Türkiye’s seas, 2025 was a year in which climate change impacts started to be evaluated through the role of the seas in the global carbon cycle. For us, it was also a year in which our capacity to produce data for marine monitoring, technology development and policy processes was strengthened.”
Under the Integrated Marine Pollution Monitoring Program, Gazioğlu said long-term datasets were produced on temperature, oxygen, pH, nutrients and pollutants. Referring to mucilage, he added, “We continued mucilage monitoring studies in the Sea of Marmara and revealed that the risk of mucilage has not been completely eliminated.”
He noted that the institute’s visibility in international science-policy platforms increased in 2025, with academics contributing Türkiye’s marine data to global assessments through the IPCC, IPBES and MedECC.
Outlining plans for 2026, Gazioğlu said, “Our main goal for the new year is to bring together the projects we are carrying out under a multiscale and interdisciplinary national marine climate system.”
He also added, “Within this framework, the establishment of a National Marine Climate Monitoring Platform is planned in 2026. The Sea of Marmara will be positioned as a pilot area for applied scientific interventions examining climate-pollution interactions.”
Gazioğlu said smart sensor systems will be converted into early-warning mechanisms and field sampling will begin in the Black Sea, noting that these efforts will directly contribute to Türkiye’s scientific data infrastructure during the COP31 process.
At the Middle East Technical University (METU) Institute of Marine Sciences, Director professor Barış Salihoğlu said projects such as the Marmara Sea Integrated Modeling System (MARMOD) and the Marine Ecosystem and Climate Research Center (DEKOSIM) made significant contributions in 2025.
Salihoğlu said, “Regular monitoring activities are carried out in coastal areas, but offshore studies, which are critically important for ecosystem-based management, cannot be conducted sufficiently.”
He said the institute conducted studies addressing multiple pressures on marine ecosystems, particularly climate change, across the Mediterranean, the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, and recalled that the Black Sea Digital Twin project was presented at the Digital Twin Forum in Brussels.
Salihoğlu said deep-sea research will continue at national and international levels, adding that Marmara-focused studies will proceed without interruption.
For 2026, he said plans include launching offshore studies under DEKOSIM with contributions from multiple institutes, organizing a marine- and ocean-themed side event during COP31, and expanding international cooperation in digital twin applications, marine spatial planning and climate adaptation solutions.
From the Aegean perspective, professor Harun Özdaş, director of Dokuz Eylül University’s Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology, said 2025 saw intensified oceanographic observation, pollution monitoring and numerical modeling studies, particularly in the Aegean Sea and Izmir Bay, western Türkiye.
Özdaş said studies in Izmir Bay quantitatively revealed how point-source and diffuse pollution are transported in the marine environment, producing important outputs for water quality management and risk assessments.
He added that the institute served as local coordinator for three European Union projects in 2025 and strengthened its technological capacity through an infrastructure project supported by the Presidency’s Strategy and Budget Directorate.
Özdaş also said excavation work on the Kızlan Ottoman Shipwreck continues successfully under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s “Heritage for the Future” project, while international cooperation in underwater archaeology continues within the Blue Heritage framework.
He added that the institute has assumed the chairmanship of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) under the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
