Fishermen in Rio de Janeiro use app to record, report water pollution

By Renato Spyrro

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - All it takes is a boat trip around the Guanabara Bay in the state of Rio de Janeiro to spot oil or chemical substances that have been dumped into the waters forming part of the world-famous landscape that includes the Sugar Loaf Mountain, numerous granite monoliths and the captivating Christ the Redeemer statue.

Moved by the environmental impact, non-governmental groups 350.org and the Association of Men and Women of the Sea of ??Guanabara Bay - Rede Ahomar created an app for local fishermen to record and report this pollution.

Since it was launched at the end of July, the app, called De Olho na Guanabara, or Eye on Guanabara, 70 users have registered themselves. Data from 350.org shows 27 complaints have been analyzed and made public while another 126 have been submitted for analysis.

Alexandre Anderson de Sousa, a fisherman and president of Rede Ahomar, said the app had been tested for over two years.

In addition to fishermen, residents and environmentalists in the region can also share photos and videos of suspected spills of oil or chemical substances that will be shared with authorities, along with information about their location.

"Each report on the app is an alert to the entire Brazilian society that one of its postcard landmarks is dying to feed an outdated fossil fuel production system, which, on top of it, also worsens the climate crisis," said Luiz Afonso Rosario the campaign coordinator from 350.org.

Giselle Menezes, water quality manager at the Rio De Janeiro environmental institute, Inea, said areas of Guanabara Bay have been showing progressive improvement, following investments in the basic sanitation network.

In addition to verifying complaints, she said the institute was also carrying out its own monitoring and inspection.

Scientists found that sea turtles in the area were getting healthier after struggling for years with a tumor disease that hampers movement, sight and feeding, and ultimately kills them.

(Reporting by Renato Spyrro; Writing by Marta Nogueira and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by David Gregorio)