In the past few weeks Turkey's first female marine rangers started on their new mission in the Gökova Bay and Fethiye-Göcek. The Mediterranean Conservation Society (MCS) which introduced the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for the first time in Turkey in 2013, launched the Women Marine Rangers program within the scope of the Marine Ranger System.
Marine Rangers record the illegal activities they encounter in the protected areas that are closed to fishing (including hunting, improper mooring of boats, dumping waste to the sea, etc.) and report these activities through their communication network, particularly to the Turkish Coast Guard Command, also including the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.In 2020-2021, the
Mediterranean Conservation Society carried out monitoring activities by covering 27,885 kilometres during 1933 patrols in the areas closed to fishing in the Gökova Bay and Fethiye-Göcek within the scope of the Marine Ranger System program. During these patrols, 338 illegal hunting activities were reported to public institutions.