Mucilage is a dense and highly viscous substance made up of extracellular polysaccharides produced and secreted by the overgrowth of various aquatic species. Rising ocean temperatures, as well as human-induced stressors like inadequate treatment levels and overfishing, are common causes of such algal blooms. By mid-2020, the Sea of Marmara was covered with mucilage that threatens marine life, tourism, fisheries and the economy. Even though this was not the first mucilage outbreak in the Sea of Marmara and was not a region-specific occurrence, it was one of the worst. The phenomenon attracts increasing attention as it severely impacts the overall ecology, particularly benthic creatures. This study aims to evaluate the short-term strategies that can be used to control mucilage in the Marmara Sea according to environmental, economic, technological, technical and social criteria. It is important to note that although integrating conventional treatment plants with advanced nutrient treatment technologies is the long-term and ultimate solution to the issue; this study focuses only on short-term measures to control a mucilage outbreak in the Sea of Marmara. Fuzzy Theory is used to analyze data obtained from experts from various sectors using two separate Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) models: Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The results indicate that stopping fishing is the best alternative, whereas collecting mucilage on the surface is the second-best preferable by two methods (F-TOPSIS, F-PROMETHEE). According to experts, the third option is to use beneficial bacteria to eliminate mucilage, while reactive oxygen dosing is the least appealing option.

This series aims to publish books, monographs and contributed volumes on water resources in the world, with particular focus per volume on water resources of a particular country or region. With the freshwater supplies becoming an increasingly important and scarce commodity, it is important to have under one cover up to date literature published on water resources and their management, e.g. lessons learnt or details from one river basin may be quite useful for other basins. Also, it is important that national and international river basins are managed, keeping each country's interest and environment in mind. The need for dialog is being heightened by climate change and global warming. It is hoped that the Series will make a contribution to this dialog. The volumes in the series ideally would follow a "Three Part" approach as outlined below: In the chapters in the first Part Sources of Freshwater would be covered, like water resources of river basins; water resources of lake basins, including surface water and under river flow; groundwater; desalination; and snow cover/ ice caps. In the second Part the chapters would include topics like: Water Use and Consumption, e.g. irrigation, industrial, domestic, recreational etc. In the third Part in different chapters more miscellaneous items can be covered like impacts of anthropogenic effects on water resources; impact of global warning and climate change on water resources; river basin management; river compacts and treaties; lake basin

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