Melike has joined our Plastic Oceans Europe team as project leader of the Mediterranean Ghost Net Prevention Initiative. 

She has been passionate about marine conservation since she had the chance to discover the underwater world on her first descent. Her concern for marine ecosystems is present during every dive, where the reality of coral bleaching and marine pollution always makes her experience bittersweet. Her previous work with international diving and activism teams across Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean has taught her the importance of a shared project vision concerning the similar challenges our waters face in different parts of the world, reinforcing her motivation to create solutions for the most significant threats.

With her decision to align her passion for diving and marine environment protection with her professional career, Melike has been committed to bringing maritime issues to the forefront of political and economic research as part of her study projects and extracurricular activities, always eager to incorporate socio-ecological aspects and sustainable business concepts in her work and beyond her first field of study in business administration and supply chain management. With these intentions in mind, she expanded her study field for a master of science in Environmental Engineering. 

Her previously conducted research has been the basis for her project, focusing on ghost net prevention in the Mediterranean by providing fishing communities with an environmentally sound deposit refund system. When coming up with the concept and the location for its intended realization, she and her project partner decided to focus on the Mediterranean basin due to its unique challenges, being geographically almost land-locked and playing a crucial role in countless livelihoods, significantly in her home country Turkey. 

While this project has been previously shortlisted as part of other funding efforts, it is the support of Plastic Oceans Europe and the trust they have put into her work that will enable its successful implementation, explaining her excitement to be part of this great network that is serving the preservation of the underwater world.