Projeto TAMAR

We are Projeto TAMAR. Our name is a combination of the Portuguese words for sea turtles, ‘tartarugas marinhas.’ We were created in Brazil in the year 1980. At that time, the sea turtles that swim along the Brazilian coast were in great danger. People were hunting them for their meat, their eggs, and their beautiful shells. This was happening so much that many turtles were at risk of disappearing from the world forever, which is called becoming extinct. Our mission was clear from the very beginning: to protect all five species of sea turtles that make their homes and build their nests along the coast of Brazil. We had to act to save them.

To succeed, we knew we had to work with the people who lived by the ocean. We went to the small fishing villages scattered along the coastline. For many years, the fishermen in these communities had hunted sea turtles as a way to earn money and support their families. Instead of treating them as enemies, we decided to ask for their help. We offered them new jobs, inviting them to become the very first official turtle protectors. No one knew the ocean and the turtles' habits better than they did. They used their special knowledge to help us find nests and protect the mother turtles when they came ashore. This plan was a big success. We helped turn former hunters into some of the most dedicated conservationists, people who work to protect nature.

Our most important job is to make sure that new generations of turtles can survive. This work starts on the beaches. Our teams patrol thousands of kilometers of sand, looking for the tracks that mother turtles leave behind when they lay their eggs at night. When we find a nest, we mark it so that it won’t be disturbed. We guard the nests to protect the eggs from animals and from being harmed by human activity. Sometimes, a mother turtle lays her eggs in a place that is too dangerous, like an area that might flood or is too close to a busy path. When this happens, we carefully dig up the eggs and move them to a safe, fenced-in area that we call a hatchery. In the hatchery, the eggs can develop safely until they are ready to hatch.

After many weeks buried in the warm sand, the tiny baby turtles, or hatchlings, begin to emerge from their shells. Their journey to the ocean is one of the most dangerous parts of their lives. We make sure they have a clear, safe path to the water, away from predators and obstacles. Every single baby turtle that makes it to the sea is an important step in helping the turtle population grow stronger. The sight of them scrambling across the sand and disappearing into the waves is a hopeful one that we work to make happen as often as possible.

From our small start in a few villages, we have grown a lot over the years. We learned that protecting nests wasn't enough; we also needed to teach people why turtles are so important. Today, we have more than 20 research stations and visitor centers along the coast of Brazil. Millions of people, including many students on school trips, visit us to learn all about sea turtles. At our centers, visitors can sometimes see turtles up close and understand what we do to help them. We also teach everyone about the dangers that turtles face in the ocean, like plastic pollution. We explain how a floating plastic bag can look like a jellyfish, a turtle’s favorite food, and cause great harm if eaten.

Today, our mission continues. We are a partnership between a non-profit organization called Fundação Pró-TAMAR and the Brazilian government. Because of our work for over 40 years, millions of baby turtles have safely reached the sea. The number of turtles is slowly recovering, which shows that our efforts have made a real difference. But the turtles are not completely safe yet. They still face threats, like getting accidentally caught in fishing nets, and the ongoing problem of ocean pollution. Our work must continue every day to study, protect, and rescue these amazing animals. We do it all to make sure that sea turtles will always swim in the sea for generations to come.