Panel SA: Shooting training in an ecological paradise hinders the resumption of tourism on the coast of SP

The shooting training that the Navy will carry out this week in the Alcatrazes archipelago, an ecological paradise on the north coast of São Paulo known as the Brazilian Galápagos, should jeopardize tourism business at a sensitive time of reheating after the impact of pandemic restrictions in the sector, according to local entrepreneurs.

The military training takes place a few days before the opening of the diving season, which starts in December, according to João Alfredo Andreoli, owner of the nautical tourism company Universo Marinho.

“The demand for visitors has dropped a lot because of Covid. And now, with summer coming, it’s a good time for tours. They wouldn’t need to go shooting in a tourist place near a frigate’s nest,” says Andreoli.

The shots hit only a part of the archipelago, the island of Sapata, far from the main point, but it is necessary to close the conservation units during the activity, according to ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation), an agency linked to the Ministry of the Environment, responsible for the accreditation of tourist companies that may operate in the archipelago.

“During these two days, visits to ICMBio conservation units will not be allowed due to the movement of birds with the noise of gunfire. On the other hand, training is only allowed during this period, as there are no nests in the places, which reduces the possibility of death of the species’ offspring”, says the ICMBio in a statement.

The agency claims that Ilha da Sapata does not belong to the refuge or ecological station, but environmentalists say that the shots could hit animals in transit across the islands and the noise scares off birds in the region, which is home to the largest nest of marine frigate birds in the Atlantic South.

Sought by the SA Panel, the Navy did not respond.

with Mariana Grazini e Andressa Motter