Pernambuco Government Says Authorization of Cruises in Noronha Is Predatory Tourism

The government of Pernambuco, contrary to the wishes of the federal government, does not want to allow cruises and artificial shipwrecks into the Fernando de Noronha archipelago. In a letter, the state government said that the island, an ecological sanctuary with several protected ecosystems, cannot be the target of a predatory model of tourism. Information about the potential authorization of large tourist vessels was published on video over the weekend on the social media of the president of Embratur (Brazilian Tourism Institute), Gilson Machado. On a visit to Noronha, he appears alongside Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (without party-RJ) In a note released on Tuesday night (4), the State Secretary for the Environment, Jose Berthoti, says that they are unaware of Fernando de Noronha's capacity limits. In 2019, the island was the subject of controversy after President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party), in a video published on social media, criticized the value of tickets, which he considered "a theft". After the controversy, the Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, visited the archipelago and stated, in a private meeting, that sardine fishing and night flights to Fernando de Noronha, prohibited because of the damage to the ecosystem, would be authorized. The promised actions have not yet been implemented.