Pirajubaé Marine Extractive Reserve, Marine extractive reserve in Florianópolis, Brazil

Pirajubaé Marine Extractive Reserve is a coastal protection area in Florianópolis featuring marine waters and mangrove forests that support diverse aquatic life. The Tavares River runs through the reserve, connecting different coastal environments.

The reserve was created in 1992 as Brazil's first marine extractive area, establishing a model that protects both fishing communities and their natural resources. This approach pioneered a new way of thinking about conservation that includes local people.

Local fishing families maintain traditional shellfish collection practices that have shaped how this coastal area is used and valued. The community's presence and work remain visible in the daily rhythm of the reserve.

The reserve lies in the urban south bay of Santa Catarina Island, around the Tavares River estuary and the Tipitingas shallows, which are reached by boat. The mangrove and tidal flats are best seen at low tide. The reserve is administered by ICMBio, which created a deliberative council in 2011.

The reserve's shellfish banks lie on a single tidal flat formed by the Tipitingas shallows, the Tavares River mangrove and the Praia de Base shoal. In 1988 a pilot marine farm for berbigão shellfish began there, with fishers taking part in biological and economic studies. By February 2016 only three families still harvested the shellfish, down from 23 in early 2015.