BARRA DO MAMANGUAPE — Brazil. It’s hard to imagine today, but manatees were once hunted and eaten. These gentle sea mammals were considered a delicacy in Brazil, with their meat consumed by local fishermen and their skin and oil exported to Europe during colonial times. This exploitation pushed the species to the brink of extinction.
Fortunately, those days are long gone. In Barra do Mamanguape—a fishing community on Brazil’s northeastern coast—manatees have gone from being a source of food to beloved local icons.
Barra is an estuary where river and sea meet, creating warm, calm waters that are perfect not just for the people who live there, but also for a thriving manatee population.
Until the 1980s, little was known about these animals. When their conservation status was finally assessed, they were already critically endangered. The urgency to protect this little-understood species sparked a wave of conservation efforts.
One such initiative is Viva o Peixe-Boi Marinho (Long Live the Sea Manatee), launched in 2013. The project focused on engaging the local community to end manatee hunting. Conservationists worked side by side with fishermen—both those who had hunted manatees and those who hadn’t—holding talks, joining fishing trips, and building trust. Slowly but surely, perceptions began to shift, turning former hunters into advocates.
Today, manatees play a key role in the local economy, drawing eco-tourists and supporting small businesses. The project also rescues and rehabilitates stranded animals and has saved around 60 manatees since the 1990s.
Mongabay visited Barra do Mamanguape to witness the project in action—and to meet some of its charismatic underwater stars.
Mongabay’s Video Team wants to cover questions and topics that matter to you. Are there any inspiring people, urgent issues, or local stories that you’d like us to cover? We want to hear from you. Be a part of our reporting process—get in touch with us here!
I raised my children
by fishing and gathering shellfish.
Barra is special becauseit’s a peaceful place.
Here is a paradise.
What I heard is thatits meat was similar to pork.
Fatty.
This hunting has been practiced since colonization.
At the time, these animals, when captured,
were mainly directed for export, to Europe.
As the species disappeared in some places,
this hunting became more of a subsistence hunt.
They knew a lot.
And from that, we had lectures,
there were face-to-face conversations,
there were experiences of participatingin fishing activities with them.
My grandparents were people who ate manatees,
and today we have a different experience.
We learned that, within the communities,
the manatee is much more important alive,
contributing to generate income,
to attract people to come here.
People who once ate manatees
now became the people
who monitored the animals.
The last coordinate was now, 1:39 p.m.
It was just a few minutes ago,so if we leave now, we can find it.
We collect information about the behavior of this animal
what it is doing, such as its diet,
as well as characteristics ofthe areas they are frequenting.
We use satellite transmitters at first,
which allow us to monitorthese animals both remotely
and also in the field, using another system,
which is the telemetry system.
Mel, she was stranded as a calf in Ceará,
and, like all calves in these circumstances,
she needed to be rescued.
She was released after a period, and to our delight,
approximately two years ago,
on Christmas Eve,
we came across Favo.
It was a Christmas present for all of us.
This is another evidence that
the strategy is on the right path.
This is what keeps us going.
The local economy todayrevolves around the manatee,
based on this concept of
nature-contemplation tourism.
And this also awakened a vision of local entrepreneurship,
which led to the creation of establishments focused on food
and accommodation.
With the tourism increasing herein Barra do Mamanguape,
the income has also increased, thank God.
In the last few weeks, we received the sad news
that Favo had been struck [by a boat].
This was a great concern for us,
it was a very extensive injury,some very deep.
We put Mel’s coordinates here.
These marks represent the areas she uses.
So we’re identifying them to
understand what we can suggest in terms of legislation
to avoid accidents in these areas,
which are frequently used by these animals.
It is already part of our regulations for the entire coast,
the restriction of navigation in areas less
than 200 meters from the coastline.
More than 80% of the accidents are in areas
within that distance.
In other words, there are vessels traveling
where they should not be traveling.
So, our big challenge is how to get all of society involved
in a responsibility that is shared by everyone,
which is this mission of conserving manatees.
We need to change, and quickly.
Manatee!
The manatee is the identity of Barra do Mamanguape.