Every year, whales appear on the beaches of Santa Catarina. They come from Antarctica in search of warmer, calmer, shallower waters to have and feed their young. They stay here for part of the winter and spring until they return home. During this period in the waters of Santa Catarina, they show beauty and sympathy in the sea.

FRAME – A whale spotted in the Morro das Pedras area – Photo: Enrique Zanotto/NDTV

Every year, product designer Milton Andre Sola runs to see the whales when he finds them close to shore. He even started using a drone to record famous visitors.

“I am from the interior of Sao Paulo. So it’s rare for us. I’ve never seen. I started watching here three years ago. The drone helped a lot. We see puppies. (…) It’s super special. Thank you very much,” Sola said.

The ProFranca coastal monitoring project is currently monitoring 50 whales off the country’s southern coast. A number that is considered high increases the expectation of a good season.

Whales usually appear in Santa Catarina between July and September. In recent years, the record number of animals recorded off the coast of Santa Catarina came in 2018, when 270 whales were sighted in the state.

“What influences her coming here is the availability of food in the feeding area over there in Antarctica. Southern right whales are kind of ecosystem engineers or ecosystem fertilizers because their arrival here ends up bringing in nutrients from what they fed back there in the Antarctic region. Nutrients that would not be here,” explained Karina Groh, director of research at the Australian Institute.

Seeing such great creatures up close is so fascinating that it has turned into tourism. Thousands of people come to the state every year to see the whales. This year, the tourist route “Whale right in Santa Catarina” was created.

According to Karina, “Having the whales ultimately generates income, moving the economy here. There is a whole network of hotels, restaurants, which are not used in the winter, and the presence of whales eventually leads to tourists who are looking for information about whales and want to see whales here on our coast.”

In the capital, Morro das Pedras is one of the most popular places to see whales. Those who live in the neighborhood complain about the lack of a structure to accommodate people who stand on the side of the road trying to register the presence of animals.

Trader Andre Luis Videira said a terrace project had already been submitted to the authorities to try to improve the space: “Because it is known, we always ask the authorities to qualify this space for a resident. People come to bow to the whales and run the risk of being run over by a speeding bus or tourist car. Cars parked incorrectly on the side of the road

After all, who doesn’t want to be able to see such a gigantic animal. This is already part of the state calendar of attractions. An attraction that excites and fascinates too much.

See the report for more details. General balance of Florianopolis!