The beach in the south of the island, in Florianopolis, should get more space. In addition to Jurerê Tradicional and Ingleses, there are also plans to expand the sand strip on Armasan Beach. The project was announced in August 2021. But a year later, the work still hasn’t started.

At Praia da Armacao, an operation will be carried out to remove silt from the Rio Sangraduro to widen the strip of sand. Photo: Anderson Coelho/Arquivo/ND

The execution will be a little different from the fattening that has already happened on the coast of Santa Catarina. The construction of a pier at the entrance to the Sangraduro River should gradually return the sand that existed at this place.

According to municipal infrastructure secretary Walter Gallin, the city authorities are “awaiting a LAP (Advanced Environmental License) from the IMA (Institute for the Environment). With the license, we run the bidding and then they put their conditions on that LAP so that we request an LAI (environmental installation license) to do the job.”

For the fishermen of the region, the changes will improve the lives of the community. However, they doubt the delay. In addition to the fattening produced naturally by the construction of the jetty, the dredging of the Sangraduro River was also announced, which today has a huge sandbar at the entrance to the canal. All this should have been ready by November of this year.

“It is impossible to work like this. Another hangover on Wednesday. I will have to take a boat there to Caieira da Barra do Sul, it will take about an hour and a half, or to Barra da Lagoa. These are additional costs, in addition to our security. The sea to enter is very bad. He can’t work. Because of this, there are no young people in the fishery. Our beach is over. Our only solution now is the channel of the Sangraduro River,” said Nathan Coelho, president of the Association of Artisanal Fishermen of Praia da Armacao.

The reality of the fishermen on the beach of Armacao is this: boats are moored in the sea or piled in a heap on a narrow strip of sand. By building a jetty and dredging the Sangraduro River, fishermen will be able to keep their boats in the channel, protected from the tide and surf.

For fisherman Arnaldo dos Santos, “a beach with jetties and a canal, the beach will be able to hold this sand that is there. The sand comes in from outside, accumulates here, then the hangover comes, the tide comes in and throws it into the river. The channel will help revive the river, return the fish that were in the river in the past. We will enter with our ships for protection. They promised for this year, but nothing comes out.

The weather forecast promises high and low tides in the coming days. This increases the anxiety of artisanal fishermen. Whenever this happens, they need to get the boats out of where they are so they don’t risk getting hit.

Work is subject to research and environmental licenses. The study has already been completed and is in the hands of the IMA, but there is no indication yet of when work will begin.

“We believe that we will achieve all this this year so that next year we can apply and do this work. We want to believe that we will have the Armação part completed at the end of next year,” Secretary Gallina explained.

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