Alcatrazes marked ten years as a wildlife refuge

The Alcatrazes Archipelago has spent ten years as a federal wildlife refuge, and monitors say parts of the food chain are showing up again. Folha de S.Paulo reported on October 19, 2026, that an August 2016 decree turned a Navy area into the refuge. The islands lie about 40 kilometers off São Sebastião and Ilhabela, on the northern coast of São Paulo state. More than 1,300 species live there, about 100 of them threatened, and the archipelago holds the largest magnificent frigatebird nesting colony in the South Atlantic.

ICMBio agent Daniel Lage said sharks have been appearing again for three years, which he takes as a sign the food chain is recovering. Illegal fishing, mostly at night, has not stopped. Last November, inspectors seized more than 300 sharks and issued about 3 million reais in fines, and that case led to a Federal Police investigation. The anniversary is a recovery with enforcement still underway.