369
recover in Brazil, as determined by the Interministerial Normative Instruction (INI)
No. 13/2012. In 2016, a new Normative Instruction was launched, protecting
Goliath Grouper from capture, transport, and commerce until 2023.
The following presents the research topics that Projeto Meros do Brasil has been
dedicated to in the past 10 years. The aim is to produce and disseminate modern
scientific knowledge about the populations of Brazilian Goliath Grouper, establishing important national and international partnerships to access new technologies,
especially the non-lethal ones, generating data that can be used for the conservation
of the species in Brazil.
14.2 The Projeto Meros do Brasil (“Brazilian Atlantic Goliath
Grouper Project”)
In 2002, observing the declining of Goliath Grouper populations over the Brazilian
coast, a group of researchers from the South of the country founded the Projeto
Meros do Brasil (“Brazilian Atlantic Goliath Grouper Project”), in order to raise
funds and facilitate researches and conservation efforts of Goliath Grouper.
In 2007 and in 2012, the Projeto Meros do Brasil was funded by the state-owned
oil company Petrobras, through its program Petrobras Ambiental, by public notice
process. Petrobras sponsorship encouraged and is still supporting the development
of new research in Brazil, not only for the preservation of the Atlantic Goliath
Grouper, but also for coastal environments associated with the species, such as mangroves, coral reefs, and rocky shores. In 2013, the Instituto Meros do Brasil was
founded, with the objective of continuing, improving and implementing management and governance measures of the Project.
Nowadays, the Projeto Meros do Brasil works in research and conservation
through studies of fisheries biology, genetics, marine fish aquaculture, environmental education, participatory research, scientific diving, and knowledge dissemination among seven coastal Brazilian states.
The Instituto Meros do Brasil has five institutions as their main partners, working
together in different focal points: Instituto de Pesca (“Fisheries Institute”, located in
São Paulo); Rio de Janeiro State Federal University (UNIRIO); Espírito Santo
Federal University (UFES/CEUNES); Alagoas Federal University (UFAL); Instituto
Recifes Costeiros (IRCOS; “Coastal Reefs Institute”, located in Pernambuco); Pará
Federal University (UFPA); Instituto Conservação Marinha do Brasil (COMAR)
located in Santa Catarina state and Museu de História Natural do Capão da Imbúia
(Natural History Museum Of capão da Imbúia) in Paraná.
The Project works in autonomous partnership under technical and scientific
cooperation with more than 50 governmental and non-governmental institutions, as
well as organized civil society groups in Brazil and abroad, assisting the development of actions in its many Focal Points. Therefore, the Project proposes to unify
the research and conservation challenges of a species that is widely distributed
through the Brazilian coast.
14 The Atlantic Goliath Grouper: Conservation Strategies for a Critically Endangered…
recover in Brazil, as determined by the Interministerial Normative Instruction (INI)
No. 13/2012. In 2016, a new Normative Instruction was launched, protecting
Goliath Grouper from capture, transport, and commerce until 2023.
The following presents the research topics that Projeto Meros do Brasil has been
dedicated to in the past 10 years. The aim is to produce and disseminate modern
scientific knowledge about the populations of Brazilian Goliath Grouper, establishing important national and international partnerships to access new technologies,
especially the non-lethal ones, generating data that can be used for the conservation
of the species in Brazil.
14.2 The Projeto Meros do Brasil (“Brazilian Atlantic Goliath
Grouper Project”)
In 2002, observing the declining of Goliath Grouper populations over the Brazilian
coast, a group of researchers from the South of the country founded the Projeto
Meros do Brasil (“Brazilian Atlantic Goliath Grouper Project”), in order to raise
funds and facilitate researches and conservation efforts of Goliath Grouper.
In 2007 and in 2012, the Projeto Meros do Brasil was funded by the state-owned
oil company Petrobras, through its program Petrobras Ambiental, by public notice
process. Petrobras sponsorship encouraged and is still supporting the development
of new research in Brazil, not only for the preservation of the Atlantic Goliath
Grouper, but also for coastal environments associated with the species, such as mangroves, coral reefs, and rocky shores. In 2013, the Instituto Meros do Brasil was
founded, with the objective of continuing, improving and implementing management and governance measures of the Project.
Nowadays, the Projeto Meros do Brasil works in research and conservation
through studies of fisheries biology, genetics, marine fish aquaculture, environmental education, participatory research, scientific diving, and knowledge dissemination among seven coastal Brazilian states.
The Instituto Meros do Brasil has five institutions as their main partners, working
together in different focal points: Instituto de Pesca (“Fisheries Institute”, located in
São Paulo); Rio de Janeiro State Federal University (UNIRIO); Espírito Santo
Federal University (UFES/CEUNES); Alagoas Federal University (UFAL); Instituto
Recifes Costeiros (IRCOS; “Coastal Reefs Institute”, located in Pernambuco); Pará
Federal University (UFPA); Instituto Conservação Marinha do Brasil (COMAR)
located in Santa Catarina state and Museu de História Natural do Capão da Imbúia
(Natural History Museum Of capão da Imbúia) in Paraná.
The Project works in autonomous partnership under technical and scientific
cooperation with more than 50 governmental and non-governmental institutions, as
well as organized civil society groups in Brazil and abroad, assisting the development of actions in its many Focal Points. Therefore, the Project proposes to unify
the research and conservation challenges of a species that is widely distributed
through the Brazilian coast.
14 The Atlantic Goliath Grouper: Conservation Strategies for a Critically Endangered…