The Navy postponed shooting exercises on Sapata Island, the second largest in the Alcatrazes archipelago, an ecological paradise near São Sebastião, on the north coast of São Paulo.
The event was scheduled for the 16th and 17th of August, but ended up suspended after repercussions on social networks and mobilization of activists. Sought, the Navy did not confirm the reasons for the postponement of the activity.
One of the initiatives was a petition that criticized the practice of carrying out the practice during the reproductive period of numerous species of birds, especially frigates, which could suffer damage from the sound impact of explosives. The document received just over 24,000 signatures online.
“The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) guided the Brazilian Navy, through a letter, to postpone the shooting exercise scheduled for August 16 and 17. In response to ICMBio, the Brazilian Navy postponed the activity scheduled in the region”, said in a note the agency linked to the Ministry of the Environment.
ICMBio had already informed the Navy on August 5th about the impossibility of carrying out the exercise. According to them, the last time the event took place this month was in 2008.
“In birds, according to a survey by Cemave (National Center for Research and Conservation of Wild Birds), disturbances in the nesting season can cause up to 75% of frigate nest and egg loss, due to the sabotage behavior of unpaired males. when the nests are left unprotected, after a sudden flight of the parents”, he explained at the time, also in a note.
Since 2013, after 33 years of claims by environmentalists and a period of “cease fire” determined by the courts, the Navy has stopped using Saco do Funil, the main island of the archipelago. .
Three years later, the site became a Wildlife Refuge, an ICMBio conservation unit. The change did not include Ilha da Sapata, the second largest.
Even so, there is a term of commitment in force for the practice to take place only between the months of November and April, monitored by observers.
Tourist companies on the north coast, accredited by ICMBio (Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade), started to carry out boat trips for the sighting of seabirds such as frigates, seagulls, thirty réis, boobies, among others.
“The noises create stress for the birds, which are sensitive. Pups can fall out of the nests and there is also a considerable volume of whales due to migration. I believe there was a serious miscommunication, as they had never tried to infringe the term” , said Júlio Cardoso, a member of the Refúgio council and director of Baleia à Vista, a project that monitors whales on board along the coast.
There are, according to him, no guarantees that the shots would not affect the migration of the whales. There are more than 70 sighted in the region in 2022 alone.
“Whales communicate by sounds and are in an intense reproductive process. Sounds projected out of the water, at first, do not disturb, but it is extremely important to measure with hydrophones to know the real impact of explosions in the sea”, he explains.
The arm wrestling between environmentalists and the shooting activities carried out by the Navy is old.
Activists say the shots can also hit animals in transit through the islands. Owners of nautical tourism companies also complain about the closure of conservation units during activities.
Councilors of São Sebastião also mobilized to prevent the practice.
Altogether, there are more than 1,300 species of fauna and flora cataloged. The place is also home to the greatest diversity of fish in the country, with unique species from the islands of the archipelago not even catalogued.
