August 30, 2023
Featured image: © Luciano Candisani
By Aline Aguiar, Champion, Cagarras Islands and Surrounding Waters Hope Spot
In July 2023, Dr. Sylvia Earle visited the Cagarras Islands and Surrounding Waters Hope Spot in Rio de Janeiro for her first dive in Brazilian waters.
Hosted by Ilhas do Rio Project, Dr. Earle’s visit was a quick trip, albeit intense and highly productive. While gaining a closer look at the Cagarras Islands and Surrounding Waters Hope Spot, Dr. Earle attended the Ocean and Climate Conference and went on her first SCUBA dive in Brazil. Dr. Earle’s visit to Rio de Janeiro inspires multiple generations of researchers, environmentalists, and decision-makers to advocate for the ocean.
After a long flight from the United States’ west coast, “Her Deepness” arrived in Brazil on Sunday, July 23rd, 2023. That same day, she went for a high view of the Cagarras Islands and Surrounding Waters Hope Spot from the Sugar Loaf, one of Rio de Janeiro’s iconic landscapes. From above, Dr. Earle had a glimpse of the astonishing view of the city’s coast and could also picture how the Cagarras Islands are so close to the mainland. Only 5km from the coast, the islands are under a significant influence of the metropolitan area. She also had the opportunity at Vermelha Beach to see some of the work done by the Verde Mar Project and their partners in the Paisagem Carioca Marine Sanctuary.
Ilhas do Rio and Verde Mar projects are the two Champion organizations of the Cagarras Islands and Surrounding Waters Hope Spot. Both work to increase knowledge of the area and promote the Hope Spot as an example of resistance on the Rio de Janeiro Megalopolis coast. And Dr. Earle could witness that, although impacted by marine pollution besides other threats, the Cagarras Islands region is a haven for biodiversity.
On Monday morning, the weather was perfect. It was sunny with not a single cloud in the sky and the sea was calm and flat. Bright and early, the Ilhas do Rio Project’s team of researchers jumped with Dr. Earle on board a field trip to the Hope Spot. Firstly, straight to the migratory corridor of humpback whales, where at least two groups of whales were sighted on their way to warm waters in the Northeast, more precisely to their breeding and calving grounds in the Abrolhos Bank, another Brazilian Hope Spot. Then, a stop on Comprida Island, at the Cagarras Islands Natural Monument, a marine protected area, for one of the most anticipated moments: Dr. Earle’s first dive in Brazilian waters.
Always with her camera at hand, capturing a picture of every single amusing creature, large or small, Dr. Earle was entirely at home underwater. Wearing her clothes with a pattern of sargassum algae and deep ocean creatures, she got ready to see a brand new environment just like a thousand other times. And, believe it or not, someone who has spent the most time underwater in the world can still encounter something never seen before in a dive. After all, if Sylvia had never dived in Brazil, it would have been unique to observe an endemic species, that is, only occurring here, such as the brain coral (Mussismilia hispida). And that happened right from the get-go. Later Dr. Earle remarked that there is a rich biodiversity, but what is missing are the big fish, apex predators, that are essential for the ocean’s health.
Back on board, while taping an interview for the Fantástico program on TV Globo channel, a major TV program in the country, there was another pleasant surprise. Behind them, a rare sight in these waters, a southern right whale shows up with her newborn calf – the first record of this species within the Cagarras Islands MPA!
On land, Dr. Earle’s stint in Rio de Janeiro encompassed visiting the Z13 artisanal fisher colony from Copacabana Beach to check out the work done in collaboration with the Ilhas do Rio Project in search of best practices for sustainable small-scale fisheries. Then, in the evening, she attended a charity event with civil society representatives, decision-makers, and project supporters.
On July 26th, the final day, Dr. Earle was one of the key speakers at the Ocean and Climate Conference, brought by the Ilhas do Rio Project, in collaboration with the Climate Hub Rio | Columbia Global Centers and Rio’s Environment and Climate Office, and had the pleasure to see the Interactive Exhibit “A Esperança nas Águas e Ilhas do Rio” (Hope in the Waters and Island of Rio).
The Conference shed light on the ocean while discussing solutions for climate change. Dr. Aguiar reflects, “We strive to focus on concrete actions that can be taken in Brazil to mitigate the impacts of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems. That includes how important it is to establish marine protected areas, reduce pollution, and restore degraded areas. Such actions are crucial to reduce the anthropogenic impacts and raise the ecosystem’s resilience faced with the climate changes, bringing positive consequences to society.” She continues, “Having Dr. Sylvia Earle with us at this event is not just an honor but also greatly increases the outreach of the message of ocean protection to politicians and the general public.”
Dr. Earle stated at a certain point in her trip, “Rio de Janeiro is an ocean city. It’s blessed, of course, by the mountains and this great national park (Tijuca National Park) that is in the mountains behind the city. But it’s also blessed with the mountains under the sea and those that come up, and we call islands. And the ocean itself. People, obviously, in Rio love the ocean. There are a lot of mammals on the beach, playing volleyball, playing beach tennis, getting in the water, surfing, swimming. And, of course, the idea that protecting the ocean seems like a new idea. It is a new idea because people who thought the ocean would take care of itself. Until recently, the ability to go in and go under the surface and see what changes there are mirrored by the changes we see on the land. The loss of nature, the loss of health of the natural systems. We can see it, touch it, and measure it on the land as nature is displaced by us. We begin to understand the same thing is happening in the ocean, with consequences to climate, with consequences to biodiversity, and with consequences back to us!”
