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Back to the Sea

Since the ecological accident in Guanabara Bay in 2000, aware that concern for the environment should be inherent in the business practices of a company whose activities involve risk, Petrobras has maintained an agreement with the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (CRAM), which is part of the Rio Grande Federal University (FURG) and is located in the city of Rio Grande in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. In this way, the company collaborates in the rescue, rehabilitation, and the return to their habitat of approximately 400 marine animals every year.

“We rescue penguins, seals, sea lions, albatrosses, seagulls, petrels, turtles, dolphins, killer whales, and porpoises, among other animals. Generally, they are found trapped in fishing nets, pieces of plastic, or wooden packages, entwined in strands of nylon, pierced by fish hooks but still alive, shot, mutilated by boat propellers, poisoned by chemical products, or soaked with oil dumped by ships cleaning their tanks on the high seas or oil spills,” explains the oceanographer Lauro Barcellos, who heads up CRAM and is also a director of the Professor Eliézer de C. Rios Oceanographic Museum, an annex to the Center.

"CRAM rescues and rehabilitates penguins, seals, albatrosses, dolphins, turtles, and other marine animals"

Of the various events occurring, the cleaning of ship tanks at sea is perhaps one of the most serious. It discharges oil into the water and kills more animals than localized oil spills, according to Barcellos. “In these cases, the crews of innumerable vessels responsible for this problem usually make no effort to clean the environment and protect marine fauna. As a result, help may only arrive when it is too late,” laments Barcellos.

Barcellos explains that the Rio Grande do Sul coast is the area of Brazil where the greatest incidence of marine animals being victimized by human action occurs because of the proximity of penguin and sea lion colonies in the vicinity. In this respect, CRAM is in a privileged location.

In its work, CRAM is assisted by five of the ten Petrobras Environmental Defense Centers (CDAs), located in Itajaí, in Santa Catarina; Guarulhos, in São Paulo; Duque de Caixias, in Rio de Janeiro; Madre de Deus, in Bahia; and Manuas in the Amazon. Operating on a 24-hour schedule, the CDAs alert the Center about any situation of potential danger to the marine fauna, providing the infrastructure for the emergency work necessary and facilitating its operations in Brazil and abroad. A CRAM logistics technician acts in complete harmony with the CDAs. In addition, local communities and the press, when they become aware of occurrences, also contact CRAM. “It is really a very efficient network for the protection of the fauna impacted by environmental accidents,” enthuses Isaac Wegner, the manager of Petrobras’ agreement with CRAM, in the company’s Health, Safety, and the Environment area.

In Mobile Animal Decontamination Units, a type of veterinary ICU designed to order by Petrobras, the animals receive emergency treatment, which must be provided quickly, close to the scene of rescue. This treatment is carried out by volunteers located close to the spill, specially trained in courses given by CRAM and registered at the location for mobilization in circumstances involving oil spills and damage to marine fauna. The mobile ICUs include two containers of medications, air conditioning, hot water, a waste disposal tank, and material necessary for immobilizing and rescuing the animals.

Once transferred to CRAM, the animals are cared for by a specialized team, comprising two oceanographers, two veterinarians, one animal handler, and about 20 trainees per week. The animals are evaluated by the veterinarians, their vital functions are stabilized, an oral solution and rest are prescribed to help in their recovery, and hot water baths, with detergent, helps to remove oil, if necessary. “In general, the rescued animals are so weak at first that they have to be fed by mouth. But when they begin to recover, they are able to fly short distances or do some shallow dives, until they are considered ready to return to the ecosystem,” explains Pedro Penido Guimarães, coordinator of the CENPES Environmental Technology Program, who conceived the agreement with CRAM.

The return of the rehabilitated animals to their natural habitat is the greatest reward for the CRAM and CDA teams and those volunteers who interact for the success of each undertaking. But, at the same time, another victory is being achieved. “As well as saving the animals, we are educating people to have a more balanced relationship with nature. Today, we have laws that protect the environment. However, it is still necessary to strengthen the enforcement procedures, which prevent the destruction of life, and to invest more in the education of future generations. This is the solution,” concludes Barcellos.