Sea Turtle in Praia do Forte | Brazil

Postcard
Praia do Forte is a beach and a coastal village in the Brazilian state of Bahia, 82 km north of the city of Salvador. It is probably one of the most beautiful and pleasant spots of the Northeast of Brazil. The Sea Turtle-Project 'TAMAR' in Praia do Forte is a succes-story in saving sea turtles from extinction.

The first task was to convince the locals not to eat the turtles' eggs. That campaign was succesful. Another major issue was the light given off from hotels and streetlights etc. too close to the beach. The newly hatched sea turtles move in the opposite direction as they mistake the artificial lights as the rising sun in the ocean. Most of the establishments replaced their lights with turtle friendly illumination. All of this has contributed to a dramatic increase in the number of sea turtles over the past years.