In the period of the Project, TUDAV has taken the advantage of the consultancy of the French partner BiEAUdiversité that is a foundation established for environmental researches.
WHY GÖKÇEADA ?
Gökçeada is the biggest island of Turkey and located in the North Aegean Sea. The island doesn’t show terrestrial and coastal disruption due to the urbanisation and uncontrolled settlement. Fishing is one of the most important incomes. There are rich fish beds between Gökçeada and Saroz Bay where the marine life of the island is rich with fauna and flora. Saros Bay and Gökçeada are also on the way of the migration path of the marine lifes between Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The island is like a marine museum and easy to reach thus this situation is especially important for the environmental education.
In Gökçeada Underwater Marine Park that posses a legal status since 1999 has started protecting actively. All illegal fishing activities are taken under control. With the underwater trail application, local people, tourists and children can be informed from the underwater information panels explaining the marine organisms that live in five different habitats. Visitors can have the opportunity to observe the marine animals with the guidance of a park ranger. Also the visitors can swim freely by following the buoys of the underwater trail using the diving equipments like, mask, snorkel and fins. Furthermore educative materials like brochures and booklets and posters are distributed to people to raise the public awareness on marine conservation.
