Having been a tour ship captain in Istanbul for 10 years, Nedim Yüzseven encountered a large object in the sea during his tour at noon on July 9. Although he initially thought it might be a tire, as he got closer he encountered a giant turtle he had never seen before. He recorded these interesting moments with his mobile phone and shared them on social media.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arda Tonay, faculty member of the Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Istanbul University (IU) and Vice President of the Turkish Marine Research Foundation, stated that the turtle recorded by Yüzseven was a leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) that had never been seen before in the Sea of Marmara or the Bosphorus. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tonay met with Captain Yüzseven to learn about this magnificent creature and evaluated this observation with Prof. Dr. Oğuz Türkozan from the Zoology Department, Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Aydın Adnan Menderes University.
Climate Change and Nutritional Migration
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arda Tonay stated that leatherback turtles, known as ‘Dermochelys coriacea’ in the scientific world, are one of the seven species found in the sea. This species is distinguished from other turtle species by having a skin-covered back. Tonay said, “This species can reach 2.5 meters in length and 600 kilograms in weight. Captain Nedim sees and records this species off the coast of Baltalimanı while cruising in the Bosphorus. We contacted him via social media. We evaluated this observation together with our instructor Prof. Dr. Oğuz Türkozan and discussed it in a scientific article.”
Tonay, who emphasized that this observation is an important record, said, “This is the 14th record in Turkey but the first in the Sea of Marmara. This species actually has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide; however, it is mostly seen in tropical and subtropical regions. Our leatherback turtles belong to the Atlantic population, which is in danger of extinction. This species usually lays eggs in the Caribbean and comes to European and Mediterranean waters for feeding purposes, they do not breed. On our beaches. While leatherback sea turtles come to our seas for feeding purposes, this is the 14th record. The warming of sea waters due to climate change is changing the distribution areas of the species. especially on jellyfish. The fact that jellyfish are seen in large numbers in different seas suggests that this individual may have come here due to climate change. In addition, the Mediterraneanization process of the Black Sea has been ongoing since the opening of the Bosphorus. 8 thousand years ago This observation may also be a record of this. “It is extremely important to record this observation in such a narrow waterway with the world’s busiest maritime traffic, the Bosphorus. The fact that the leatherback sea turtle is here is an indication that it has also crossed the Dardanelles. Therefore, this observation is the “northernmost scientific record in the Mediterranean Basin,” he said.
Memoirs of Captain Yuzseven
Captain Nedim Yüzseven, who recorded the footage, stated that he could not understand what it was when he saw it in the sea. Yüzseven said, “At first I thought it was a tire. Then I looked and it lifted its head. The turtle was 1.5 meters long. When I got a little closer, I saw its back. It had a leathery back. It was a Different kind of turtle. I had never seen one before. After I shared the footage, Arda Hoca reached out to me and said that this was a very rare species and that it was the first time it was recorded. “In the Bosphorus. I was very happy to hear this. I hope no one harms the creature and it can swim in our seas comfortably.”
The ‘leatherback sea turtle’ living in the oceans was thus recorded in a rare sighting in the Bosphorus.
