Dolphins have been spotted in the Bosphorus – Ozan KOSE / AFP
- At Sarayburnu, a promontory which separates the Golden Horn from the Sea of Marmara, a band of dolphins has been seen swimming with a flock of seagulls.
- “The decline in maritime and human traffic in the Bosphorus has a significant impact,” said Erol Orkcu, president of the association of amateur fishermen in Istanbul.
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In Istanbul, the containment imposed by the coronavirus pandemic is making people happy: Bosphorus dolphins. Fewer boats in the strait between Europe and Asia, fewer fishermen and an unusual calm.
The Turkish megacity of 16 million inhabitants is under confinement since Thursday and until midnight Sunday, after two previous weekends where Istanbul was already stopped by order of the government. The epidemic has killed more than 2,700 people in Turkey.
Coronavirus: fr #Turkey confined, the #dolphins benefit from reduced traffic on the #Bosphorus pic.twitter.com/0M6uJDvb1M
– Kadir Demir (@dirkaDemir) April 26, 2020
Less traffic and more fish
Connecting the Mediterranean to the Black Sea through central Istanbul, the Bosphorus Strait is a narrow waterway (less than 3 km wide) and usually very busy. But with containment, there is less traffic and more fish, which attracts dolphins closer to the shore, much to the delight of the locals.
In Sarayburnu, a promontory that separates the Golden Horn from the Sea of Marmara, a band of dolphins was spotted swimming with a flock of seagulls, to the delight of the photographers.
“The decline in maritime and human traffic in the Bosphorus has a significant impact,” said Erol Orkcu, president of the Istanbul Amateur Fishermen’s Association. “Living beings, aquatic and terrestrial, are delivered from human presence. This allows the dolphins to get closer to the shore. “
Before the pandemic, hundreds of fishermen lined up along the banks of the Bosphorus every day. They are now almost deserted.
