"TAMAR" PROJECT - SEA TURTLES ON BRAZILIAN COAST

"Projeto TAMAR"

Sea Turtle at Praia do Forte, Bahia, Brazil.

The Projeto TAMAR (Portuguese for TAMAR Project, with TAMAR being an abbreviation of Tartarugas Marinhas, the Sea Turtles) is a Brazilian non-profit organization owned by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation.^[1] The main objective of the project is to protect sea turtles from extinction in the Brazilian coastline.

Although the initial purpose was to protect sea turtles only, the project grew and became concerned with sharks and all the sea wildlife, as they are part of the environment in which the sea turtles live. All actions by the project intend to preserve wildlife, concern people about environment, and create sustainable places for the procreation of the species protected by TAMAR.

There are currently 22 bases of the project, spread all over the country coastline, covering a range of more than 1000 kilometers (from Northeast to South Brazil in the States of: Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Sergipe, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo,  and Santa Catarina).

At first, TAMAR hired turtle poachers, paying them wages to protect rather than exploit the turtle population. Later, the poachers’ wives, children and other families became involved as well. The TAMAR effort now serves dozens of coastal communities in northeastern Brazil by providing employment and other public benefits to local residents. 

The symbolic release of the baby turtle number 10,000,000 on Saturday (April 10) marked the celebration of 30 years of Tamar. The mark was reached in the 2009/2010 season. Baby turtles were released simultaneously in all Tamar research bases in the country, from Santa Catarina to Ceara, even in states where there exist more than one basis, as it is in Bahia, Sergipe and Espirito Santo.