More than 30,000 animals were found injured or dead on the Brazilian coast last year, according to the Beach Monitoring Project (PMP), carried out by Petrobras under the environmental licensing of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama ). In the last 12 months, around 98 species were monitored by the project. The states with the highest incidence of dead or weakened animals found by the PMP were Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Santa Catarina, for example, recorded 10,915 animals in this situation; in São Paulo, there were 6,282; in Rio de Janeiro, 5,100, while in Paraná there were 3,375. Biologist Denise Rosário, a biodiversity consultant at Petrobras, who is monitoring the project, informed that healthy animals are not included in the survey. About 88% were found dead. Debilitated animals are sent for veterinary treatment at one of the 24 rehabilitation centers or stabilization units maintained by the project, with a view to later reintroduction into their natural habitat. About 26% are rehabilitated and reintroduced into nature, after treatment and stabilization of the clinical picture. The success of the rehabilitation largely depends on the state in which the animal is found. Denise highlighted that despite the relatively low percentage, the number of rehabilitated animals is expressive, because they return to nature and contribute to the maintenance of their original populations, including endangered species. Penguin undergoing rehabilitation – PMP-BS/Agência Petrobras Parceria The project has already rehabilitated animals of 14 endangered species. Many marine animals are included in this list, such as the birds of Trinidad’s Shearwater (Pterodroma arminjoniana), Red-footed Booby (Sula Sula) and Atlantic Yellow-billed Albatross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos), turtles marine life and mammals such as the Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) and some species of whales. For the rehabilitation activity, Petrobras works in partnership with several scientific organizations for the conservation of marine fauna and also with local communities. “In addition to the regular monitoring of the beaches, carried out by the project teams, there are telephones for the community to contact, which are widely publicized. And community collaboration is very important because the chances of recovery increase if they are taken to veterinary care centers right after they are found,” said Denise. At these bases there are multidisciplinary teams dedicated to animal care. She explained that, many times, an animal is rescued in a region and transferred for release and treatment in another area or even in another state, taking into account the ideal characteristics for release, according to each species. In some cases, the treatment takes months, because the animals have to relearn how to feed themselves, move around or wait for a suitable period of the year to be released. Depending on the species, as is the case with Magellanic penguins, they need to form a group to go to sea together. Currently, the PMP is divided into four projects that constitute the largest beach monitoring program in the world. They include ten coastal states, with over 3,000 kilometers of beaches in regions where Petrobras operates. The project is continually improved. According to Denise Rosário, this year a new project execution cycle will be implemented to include best practices. Awareness The works also cover the awareness of the local population, with educational campaigns to explain that the number of deaths is caused by garbage in the sea and by the interaction with fishing and what can be done to reduce this impact. In the cases of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará, manatees that return to nature receive an identification number and equipment that allows them to be located to monitor their adaptation. Often, however, this equipment catches the attention of fishermen who try to remove it, thinking it is harmful to the animal. “For this reason, we are also carrying out educational work with the communities in the region, to explain the functionality and importance of this tracker, in order to monitor the adaptation, health and development of the animal”, Denise confirmed that, according to the results of the project, fishing is one of the main factors of damage to marine animals. “But he is not the only one. There are many cases of animals injured by fishing tackle, but also by ingesting garbage, as is the case in Rio de Janeiro, and also by serious injuries caused by kite lines”. In the case of stranding cetaceans, which are whales, dolphins and porpoises, she explained that the necropsies of the dead animals indicate human interaction, with fishing being the main reason for death, followed by aggression, interaction with solid waste and collision with vessels. The researchers note that, due to their size, the animals are often unable to extricate themselves from the nets that are trapped, making locomotion difficult and possibly leading to drowning and other injuries. According to the data, there were 1,224 records of cetacean deaths. In São Paulo alone, 506 animals were found and in Santa Catarina, 281. Regarding Toninha, the most endangered cetacean in Brazil, there were 613 in the last year. Most affected Seabirds are the most affected, representing 55.7% of the animals monitored by monitoring. Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) form the majority. There were 11,582 found weakened or dead, a number 70% higher compared to previous years: in 2021, 6,758 penguins were registered and, in 2020, 5,609 animals. There is no definitive explanation for the increase. The researchers monitor the data to understand the migration of the species and the causes of the high number of individuals that arrive weakened on the Brazilian coast. Among other bird species found by the survey, there are the little jester (Puffinus puffinus), with 971 individuals; brown booby (Sula leucogaster), 949 animals; and the gull (Larus dominicanus), with 941. Sea turtles are also recurrent in the study, often found injured by some fishing tackle or weakened by eating garbage. According to the data, in 2022, there were 12,000 animals, 79% of which were the green turtle species (Chelonia mydas), totaling 9,568 individuals. The southeast coast is the place with the highest incidence: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Espírito Santo, with 3,074, 1,590 and 1,647 individuals, respectively. Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo are priority areas for the reproduction of some species. In Brazil, there are five species of turtles, four of them endangered: loggerhead turtle, hawksbill turtle, olive turtle and leatherback turtle. The population can activate the monitoring teams when they see a live or dead marine animal, by calling: PMP-BS Area SC/PR and Area SP – 0800 6423341 PMP-BS Area RJ (Paraty to Saquarema) – 0800 9995151 PMP-BC/ ES (RJ) -0800 0262828 PMP-BC/ES (ES) – 0800 0395005 PMP-SEAL (Piaçabuçu/AL to Conde/BA) – 08000-793434 or (79) 9 9683-1971 PMP-RNCE (RN) – ( 84) 98843 4621 and 99943 0058 PMP-RNCE (CE) – (85) 99800 0109 and 99188 2137
Agência Brasil
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