It is now forbidden to mess around with sea cucumbers in Didim after an important decision by the Council of State.

The Akbük Culture and Environment Association (AKÇED) has won a high-profile case it filed against the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for the hunting and collection of sea cucumbers off the coast of Didim.

The issue was announced to the public with a press statement in Didim Municipality, attended by Mayor Hatice Gençay, AKÇED President Meral Göktan, and other civic representatives.

Göktan stated that a lawsuit was filed against the Ministry to ban sea cucumber hunting in Didim and its shores and that the Council of State found them right, adding: “Sea cucumbers sweep our seas, clean all pollution with a natural method and thus protects the ecological balance of the seas.

“The hunting of this product is the leading cause of increasing pollution in the seas. For this reason, we, as AKÇED, filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which allowed this hunting in 2015 and directed this massacre with the circulars it published.

“Our demand was the cancellation of the circulars in question. We all know that Didim and Akbük are rapidly rising in terms of tourism. Local and foreign tourists flock to our region to benefit from our coasts.

“However, those who allow sea cucumber hunting on our valuable coasts have disregarded this value we are talking about. However, the economic livelihood of the local people is related to the tourists who come to the region to benefit from the sea during the summer season.

“While sea cucumbers should be collected by hand by diving to a depth of at least 12 meters, they are currently collected in places very close to the shore by scanning the seabed with large rakes. Unfortunately, there is no control in this regard. In addition, while the number of people with a hunting license is certain, many more people hunt using pirate methods.”

The statement added: “During the lawsuit we filed, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry claimed in its defense that sea pollution was caused by industrial and domestic waste. There are almost no industrial facilities in the region we are talking about.

“While the main element that will clean the pollution caused by domestic waste is sea cucumbers, it is again this ministry that allows these creatures to be hunted. One would wish that the Ministry would move sea cucumber fishing to areas outside of the areas where people use the sea, thus contributing to public health and the economic growth of tourist areas. However, the Ministry claims that it issues these permits by considering public and environmental health.

“In the meantime, there is another ironic fact that we would like to underline. The ban mentioned in the court decision has become final.”