A Brazilian bay’s surprise shark nursery sparks conservation project

ANGRA DOS REIS, Brazil (AP) — A fishing community in Brazil’s southeastern Ilha Grande bay once saw the blacktip sharks navigating the sparkling, emerald green water as potential food.

That perception has shifted, at least in part thanks to scientists who discovered that a nearby cove is frequented by dozens of pregnant blacktip sharks, prompting efforts to protect the area.

Recent studies describe Brazil as the largest consumer of shark meat. Yet sharks are among the most threatened group of vertebrates on Earth, with more than one-third of species at risk of extinction due to overfishing, habitat degradation and climate change, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Brazil’s coastline harbors a large diversity of shark species and includes critical habitats for many threatened populations, making their protection an important part of global ocean conservation.

Key to those efforts is the identification of nurseries such as the one in Piraquara de Fora cove, according to experts who are part of the Brazilian Institute for Nature Conservation's Sharks of Ilha Grande Bay project.

“We used to fish and eat them,” said Marlene Fernanda do Nascimento Martins, a 35-year-old community leader. Conservationists “explained that we shouldn’t do that anymore because of the animals themselves and the need to protect them.”

Sharks reproduce slowly, with fewer offspring than many bony fishes, which increases their vulnerability.

“Breeding areas are fundamental to ensuring the species survives throughout this Atlantic ecoregion,” said Leonardo Mitrano Neves, who heads the scientific branch of the project.

On a recent weekday, Mitrano Neves and his team lowered monitoring equipment loaded with cameras into different parts of the cove, leaving them submerged for an hour alongside bait to attract the sharks.

That footage and drone images will later be analyzed in a laboratory, producing data that will be used to advocate for greater conservation efforts.

While blacktip sharks are most common in the region, the project also focuses on sand tiger sharks and hammerhead sharks.

The scheme also aims to start environmental education activities in schools so that sharks will come to be seen as part of the region’s natural heritage.

Communication materials highlight that the sharks do not represent a threat to humans and that there are no known shark incidents in the region.

Brazil prohibits targeted shark fishing, but nonprotected sharks may still be landed when caught incidentally as bycatch, whereas threatened species are protected from capture and commercialization and must be released if caught.

Identification can be imprecise, with shark meat often sold under the generic term “cação.”

José Truda Palazzo, the coordinator of the project in Ilha Grande bay, said their work to discourage local communities from eating shark meat is starting to have an impact.

During meetings with nearby populations, representatives of the project talked about the importance of the sharks for the ocean’s ecosystem and the health risks associated with eating shark meat, he said.

Research indicates that, as apex predators, sharks accumulate high levels of heavy metals — including arsenic, mercury and lead — in their blood and tissues. A 2024 study also found that some Brazilian sharpnose sharks tested positive for cocaine.

“We hope that more and more people come to understand that cação is shark, and shark meat is toxic, in addition to the fact that sharks are endangered animals,” said Palazzo.

As long as the sky and water are clear, local residents sometimes spot the sharks from the low-level, forest-covered mountains, above the sand-colored rocks that meet the ocean.

In time, observation of the sharks — on land, from boats and even underwater — could develop into an additional source of income thanks to ecotourism, Palazzo said.

Nascimento Martins fishes and sells ice on the beach to supplement her monthly income, which supports her and her three children. She said ecotourism would offer a big assist to the area.

“We’re a remote community with very limited resources. So anything that comes along that can help us preserve our village is a good thing,” she said.

Reinaldo Dias da Rocha, who is from the same community, said his father had already encouraged him not to hunt sharks, but the project had reinforced the importance of preserving the animals.

“We pass the information on to our nephews, to tourists who come to discover this place and enjoy our beautiful beaches, and further labor the point that what we call cação isn't to be eaten.”

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Researchers Beatriz da Costa e Castro, left, and Thaissa Albuquerque Ribeiro Augusto deploy a Baited Remote Underwater Video System as part of a shark project in Ilha Grande bay, Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A researcher displays a tablet with a mapping system used to identify research sites for a shark project in Ilha Grande Bay, Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Fisherman Reinaldo Dias da Rocha boards a boat used by a shark protection project at Ilha Grande Bay, Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

cientific coordinator Leonardo Mitrano Neves reviews footage recorded by a Baited Remote Underwater Video System during monitoring for a shark project in Ilha Grande Bay, Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Scientific coordinator Leonardo Mitrano Neves, left, and field and logistics coordinator Daniel Shimada Brotto retrieve a Baited Remote Underwater Video System during monitoring as part of a shark project in Ilha Grande Bay, Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — It has welcomed marathon runners, rock stars and the first modern Olympic athletes. Now it’s time for a monumental scrub.

Athens’ U-shaped Panathenaic Stadium — made entirely of white marble — is getting its first systematic cleaning in more than a century.

Rebuilt for the first modern Olympics in 1896, the site is the ceremonial send-off point for the Olympic flame, including for Los Angeles 2028.

The stadium is made of the same glittering marble used on the Acropolis, making the cleanup job delicate.

The work is revealing a monument changed by time, weather and millions of visitors. Cleaners in white and blue overalls move across the stadium’s 47 steep tiers with thin spray lances, using clean water at carefully controlled, low pressure. Machines vacuum up the runoff as they go.

“The goal of cleaning is not to make everything white. It’s to remove the dirt and the first layers of organic material that are deposited on the surface,” said Dimitris Selemis, a senior conservator at the site.

“The idea is to clean all the material that (contains) dirt from the surface, so we have a better understanding of the monument,” he said, noting that there is more weed growth and dirt in areas that receive less direct sunlight.

Crews are also using steam to remove blotches of chewing gum, which have turned black over time. Stadium officials say chewing gum, high heels and soft-drink stains are among the main culprits that stain the marble.

Now slowly being revealed, the original gleaming look of the venue earned it the widely used Greek nickname “Kallimarmaro,” or beautiful marble.

“We call it Kallimarmaro because it is made of the finest marble, the best that was ever produced ... We are very proud of it,” Isidoros Kouvelos, president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, told The Associated Press in an interview.

“It needed to be cleaned of everything that has accumulated over all these years," he said. "This way the Panathenaic Stadium will show all its brilliance and will once again be the foremost monument of humanity for the Olympic Movement.”

Built into a natural ravine, the stadium’s site was used for ancient Greek athletic contests and later Roman spectacles before falling into centuries of disuse.

Since its 1896 revival, it has staged fashion shows, rock concerts, boxing matches and national celebrations — as well as lavish patriotic ceremonies ordered by a military dictatorship in the 1960s.

Today, it’s a popular draw for tourists. Apart from the cleanup, the Kallimarmaro is also getting a new track, upgraded lighting and fresh support facilities. The project is privately funded by a shipping company and overseen by the Hellenic Olympic Committee with guidance from Culture Ministry experts.

The work will continue through 2026 but is currently concentrated on the stadium’s “sling,” or curved end, in time for the next torch-passing ceremony on Sept. 10.

That will be for the Dakar Youth Olympics, scheduled for Oct. 31-Nov. 13 in Senegal, which will be the first Olympic competition ever hosted in Africa.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry, a swimming gold medal winner from Zimbabwe, is due to attend the Sept. 10 ceremony, Kouvelos said.

Dimitris Selimis, a senior conservator at the site, inspects the cleaned marble surfaces of the Panathenaic Stadium, also known as "Kallimarmaro," or beautiful marble, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, during renovation work in Athens, Greece, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Two men run at the Panathenaic Stadium, also known as "Kallimarmaro," or beautiful marble, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, during renovation work in Athens, Greece, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Workers lay asphalt at the Panathenaic Stadium, also known as "Kallimarmaro, or beautiful marble," which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, during renovation work in Athens, Greece, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

A worker cleans the marble surfaces of the Panathenaic Stadium, also known as "Kallimarmaro," or beautiful marble, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, using a high-pressure water hose during renovation work in Athens, Greece, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

An aerial view of the Panathenaic Stadium, also known as "Kallimarmaro, or beautiful marble," which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, is seen during renovation work in Athens, Greece, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)