When Maria (known to friends as "Neca") and Guy launched the
project in 1980, fishermen killed turtles for meat and poached
their eggs. The skins became wallets, the shells jewelry. Mother
turtles laying eggs on the beach were easy targets, and most of
the 2-in.-long hatchlings never made it to the sea.
The Marcovaldis, who had studied oceanography together at
Brazil's University of Rio Grande, resolved to stop the
slaughter. With government funding, they enlisted a growing army
of Brazilians to guard the sea turtles and their nests. Today 400
employees at 21 stations patrol 620 miles of coastline.
TAMAR would not have worked if the Marcovaldis had not convinced
Brazilians that turtles were worth more alive than dead. Thanks
to the program, visitors flock to see the great reptiles come out
of the sea. In Praia do Forte the majority of the 2,000 residents
have jobs in tourism.
The only person with cause for complaint is the Marcovaldis'
daughter Nina, 12. "She feels she has to compete with the turtles
for her parents' affection," admits her mother. "We are trying to
spend more time with her." That won't be a problem for the
turtles, since Neca and Guy have plenty of helpers to nurture the
next reptilian generation.
PAGE 1 | 2
