Symphony of Corals in +1 Breath to the Sea

Anadolu Efes came together with the sea and nature-friendly musician Mercan Dede within the scope of the ‘+1 Breath to the Sea’ project, which was initiated to protect corals facing the danger of extinction and to raise awareness. Within the scope of the project carried out by the company in cooperation with the Marine Life Conservation Society, Mercan Dede gives an ear to the voice of biodiversity with the ‘Symphony of Corals’, inspired by the sound of biodiversity in the Marmara Sea.

As the only country in the world with its own inland sea, the Marmara Sea, the apple of Türkiye's eye, is a vital biological corridor between the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. In this context, in order to support the development of biodiversity in the Marmara Sea and raise awareness, the +1 Breath to the Sea project was launched in 2022 with the cooperation of Anadolu Efes and the Marine Life Conservation Society (DYKD). The project aims to increase and protect corals, which are described as the ‘rainforests of the seas’ and are in danger of extinction, and to enrich biodiversity along with underwater life in the Marmara Sea.

In the first phase +1 Breath to the Sea, divers transported corals, which had been separated from their natural habitat and damaged, to the area off the coast of Tavşan Island in the Marmara Sea, which has been declared a sensitive area to be strictly protected, and created new coral gardens. In the second phase of the project, a camera system was installed 30 metres under the sea for 24/7 live monitoring and recording of the development and impact of the transplanted corals. In the third phase, it was time to listen to the voice of biodiversity in the Marmara Sea. The sound of living creatures was recorded with sound recording devices placed underwater by divers. Sea and nature-friendly musician Mercan Dede was inspired by these recordings to create "Symphony of Corals".

‘We are working to build a responsible, conscious and sustainable future’

Onur Altürk,President of Beer Group and CEO of Anadolu Efes, said: “As a company born in Anatolian soil 55 years ago, today we present in more than 70 countries. We realise projects that will create long-term value with the perspective of strengthening the society, the environment and our ecosystem consisting of all our stakeholders. We are working to build a responsible, conscious and sustainable future.

Although the Marmara Sea is rich in biodiversity by hosting nearly 3 thousand species, it has unfortunately been under a serious threat in recent years. Researches show that 17 species have been completely extinct in the Marmara Sea in the last 50 years and many species are in danger of extinction. With the +1 Breath to the Sea project, which we implemented 3 years ago, we are working to give new life to corals, also known as the ‘rainforests of the seas’, in the Marmara Sea. We collaborated with the Marine Life Conservation Society to create new coral gardens and raise awareness on this issue. This year, we added a completely different perspective to our project to raise social awareness and came together with the valuable artist Mercan Dede. Symphony of Corals became the voice of the Marmara Sea. On the other hand, underwater sound data in the Marmara Sea have also created important findings in terms of observing biodiversity and monitoring the health status of the marine ecosystem.”

Volkan Narcı, President of the Marine Life Conservation Society , said: “In addition to increasing the coral population and biodiversity in the Marmara Sea, it is of great importance for us to protect them and bring them into the ecosystem. In this context, we wanted to listen to the sound of the sea this year in +1 Breath to the Sea project. Because as a result of our studies to collect underwater sound data, we found that sound pollution caused by human activities is the most commonly recorded sound data. In this context, in order to make the voice of the Marmara Sea heard, Mercan Dede was inspired by the sound and image of many sea creatures and realised the ‘Symphony of Corals’.”

Musician Mercan Dede said, “While the climate crisis, which is effective in the world and in our country, threatens not only the present but also our future, marine ecosystems are among the areas most affected by this crisis. Ecosystems act in interconnected cycles. The rich biodiversity of the Marmara Sea comes to life with creatures such as cod, lobster, shrimp, dolphin and mussels that exist around corals. In this sense, +1 Breath to the Sea project is very valuable for the protection of corals, and I created ‘Symphony of Corals’ to contribute to the work carried out to raise awareness in society. I also wanted to emphasise with kaleidoscopic images how a small step taken anywhere in the world can provide a great transformation to the life of the seas and the entire ecosystem. Corals are the lifeblood of the seas; their protection is one of our biggest responsibilities for a sustainable future.”

You can click on the link to get more information about the project and listen to the Symphony of Corals. https://youtu.be/j5RkG9bWkVA?si=fGq0e74Ef02Z9fzX