By Clara Machado and Nerinho Santos
AAEPPRI (Associação Ambiental, Extrativistas, Pescadores E Produtores Rurais De Itamarati) released turtle hatchlings that had spawned along Juruá River’s beaches on November, 2021. At the Walterburi’s board, in Itamarati (AM), 400,000 hatchlings, among turtles, tracajás and iaçás were released to safety, thanks to the community monitorarion that protects the hatchlings from being hunted and captured.
The monitoring of the beaches is continuous throughout the dry season, when turtles spawn on the sands of Juruá River’s beaches and the community protects the nests, preventing them from being disturbed by intruders. At the end of the season, an event is promoted by the whole community, guests and partners. At this event, 30,000 hatchlings were gathered to be released into the river. This celebration, which integrates the communities, provides information of educational nature to children, who educate themselves on the importance of conservation for the continuation of the association’s activities and for the whole community’s quality of life.
Besides Walterburi’s tabuleiro (sandy areas on the banks of rivers), the same activity has been done in two other beaches: São Franscisco and Nova Olinda, with over 700,000 hatchlings released to safety. This protection work is held by AAEPPRI and counts on the support of Instituto Juruá and Itamarati City Hall.
