As the Marine Life Conservation Society, we carry out our Coral Guardians Program with the valuable contributions of our partners Anadolu Efes, DP World Yarımca, and Kumport Port Operations & China Merchants Foundation, focusing on Tavşan Island and Sivriada.
The yellow coral (Eunicella cavolini), an endemic species of the Mediterranean, is under threat of extinction in the Marmara Sea due to both natural and human-induced factors. With the necessary permits from relevant ministries and under the Presidential Decree declaring Tavşan Island as the first and only Strictly Protected Marine Area of the Marmara Sea, we have scientifically relocated these corals to the area.
Coral and Thermometer Project
Within the scope of our projects, a total of 500 coral colonies have been transplanted. A 75% survival rate has been achieved at Tavşan Island, and as of 2025, a new natural population consisting of young colonies has been observed around the project area. This result indicates that the transplanted corals have maintained their biological functions successfully and that the population has become self-sustaining.
In the second phase of the project, we are monitoring annual temperature fluctuations and their effects on both the corals and surrounding biodiversity by placing temperature loggers every 10 meters near the transplantation sites.
Additionally, the sails of our Blue Flag-certified research yacht, Valmira, have been renewed with the support of DP World. This enables us to carry out our projects in a more sustainable way—drawing strength from nature and confidently setting sail for new initiatives with the wind at our back.
On Sivriada, within the scope of our population enhancement efforts launched in 2024 with the support of Kumport and the China Merchants Foundation, 100 yellow gorgonians that were broken or detached due to human activities have been reattached to suitable habitats. In the second year of the project, Phase II activities are ongoing.