10The Ceará coast is one of the most important feeding habitats for juvenile green turtles. The presence of artificial reefs along the coast and the abundance of flora species characteristic of their diet, are both factors that contribute to their occurrence. However, sand encroachment along the Ceará coast is causing the destruction of natural reefs and reducing the number of available habitats, which has a negative impact on fishing. To counter this trend, the fishermen of Almofala community build artificial reefs, named “marambaias”.
Depending on the target species, these “marambaias” are built in different ways with different materials. Nowadays, sea turtles are accidentally caught during “marambaia” fishing operations, and for this reason six different “marambaias” were studied, to understand the relationships between these structures and the presence/absence of turtles. This work was carried out in cooperation with the TAMAR/IBAMA project. The results suggest that “marambaias” are relevant alternative habitats in areas where natural reefs have become scarce, and may be favorable for the conservation and management of green turtles.