Projeto Tamar

What Projeto Tamar does

Fundação Projeto Tamar is a Brazilian non-profit marine conservation organization founded in 1980 and headquartered at Praia do Forte, Bahia, dedicated to the protection, scientific research, and environmental education of five sea turtle species (loggerhead, hawksbill, leatherback, green, and olive ridley). It operates a distributed network of six visitor center museums along the Brazilian coastline — Fernando de Noronha, Aracaju, Praia do Forte, Vitória, Ubatuba, and Florianópolis — supplemented by a recently inaugurated Espaço Praia facility in Regência (Espírito Santo). Operations span 22 localities across 8 states, monitoring approximately 1,100 km of coastline over 46 nesting seasons, with reported population recoveries including a 7.8x increase in hawksbill nests (1991-2019), 50x growth in olive ridley nests, and 800+ green turtle nests in Fernando de Noronha's 2024/25 season.

Core scientific infrastructure includes a satellite telemetry platform (telemetria.appix.com.br) developed with partner Appix for real-time tracking of leatherback turtle migrations, complemented by deep-ocean research using submersible platforms between 200-1,200 meters. The organization maintains captive breeding protocols (notably for nurse sharks and catshark species) and academic partnerships, including with the University of Central Florida's Marine Turtle Research Group and Brazil's Federal University of Sergipe. It is officially designated as Centro TAMAR-ICMBio, the federally mandated national sea turtle research and conservation entity, enabling integration into environmental licensing regimes — most notably an ongoing satellite monitoring agreement with Petrobras for offshore seismic research.

Revenue is generated through museum admission tickets, branded merchandise sales via Lojas Tamar (physical and online), corporate sponsorships (Petrobras identified as a major sponsor), donations, and government partnerships. The organization extends its social footprint through community programs (Tamar na Escola, Movimento Tamarear, capoeira-based cultural initiatives) reaching approximately 50,000 students and 7,000 teachers annually across Brazilian schools and coastal fishing communities. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Projeto Tamar

Legal name

Fundação Projeto Tamar

Website

https://tamar.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Fundação Projeto Tamar is a Brazilian non-profit, founded in 1980, that operates six coastal visitor centers across Brazil to conduct sea turtle research, environmental education, and community-based conservation, generating revenue through admissions, merchandise, and corporate sponsorship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Conservation Services

NAICS

Administration of Conservation Programs (92412)

akta.pro primary industry

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Coastal & Marine Resources Administration (Oceans, Fisheries, Shorelines) (BPAIAMAI)

Keywords

• Sea turtle conservation
• Marine wildlife protection
• Environmental education
• Coastal visitor centers
• Ocean conservation research

Headquarters

HQ city

Mata De São João

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Museum Ticket Sales: Revenue from 6 visitor centers/museums located in Fernando de Noronha, Aracaju, Praia do Forte, Vitória, Ubatuba, and Florianópolis. All proceeds fund conservation activities.
2. Gift Shop Sales (Lojas Tamar): Sale of branded merchandise, educational materials, and souvenirs at museum locations and online
3. Government Partnerships and Licensing: Collaboration with ICMBio and government environmental agencies for research and conservation programs, including licensing requirements for seismic research monitoring
4. Donations and Corporate Sponsorships: Support from corporate partners including Petrobras and other environmental sponsors

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Projeto Tamar is a Brazilian non-profit foundation focused on the conservation, research, and recovery of sea turtle species along the Brazilian coast. Its core activities include running field conservation programs, scientific research on marine turtles, and operating visitor centers/museums that provide environmental education to the general public.

Product overview

Fundação Projeto Tamar operates as a marine conservation organization offering a distributed network of six visitor centers/museums along Brazil's coastline (from Fernando de Noronha to Santa Catarina), complemented by satellite telemetry tracking platforms, environmental education programs, and social inclusion initiatives. The core product portfolio includes: (1) Visitor Centers/Museums serving as primary public engagement hubs for research, animal care, and conservation education; (2) Satellite Telemetry Platform for real-time tracking of sea turtles; (3) Training and Capacity Building Programs for young professionals; (4) School Programs like 'Tamar na Escola'; (5) Interactive experiences such as 'Biólogo por um Dia'; (6) E-commerce for tickets and merchandise; and (7) Social inclusion and community programs. The organization contributes to 14 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Museus da Fundação Projeto Tamar: Visitor centers/museums of the Fundação Projeto Tamar located in Fernando de Noronha, Aracaju, Praia do Forte, Vitória, Ubatuba, and Florianópolis
• TV Tamar
• Rádio Tamar
• Tamar na Escola
• Submarino Amarelo
• Biólogo por um Dia

Quantifiable outcome

• Hawkbill turtle nest numbers increased 7.8x in Bahia/Sergipe over 29 seasons (1991-2019)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Appix Tecnologia e InformaçãocoreTechnology or Integration · 16 July 2025Technology partner developing and maintaining the real-time satellite telemetry platform for tracking leatherback turtles (tamartelemetria.appix.com.br). Platform provides public access to turtle migration data as part of conservation research.
• ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership as Centro TAMAR-ICMBio, the official national sea turtle research and conservation center. Coordinates federal conservation efforts and environmental licensing research requirements.
• Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal ministry leading collaborative process for fishing regulations, including the new shrimp trawl fishing ban portaria protecting sea turtles in Alagoas, Sergipe, and Northern Bahia.
• Federal University of Sergipe (UFS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner conducting participatory workshops with fishing communities and contributing research data for shrimp fishery policy revision and sea turtle conservation.
• Marine Turtle Research Group (UCF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational academic partner listed as institutional supporter for research collaboration.
• Capoeira Unidos nas TartarugasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural group founded 1991 in Sergipe communities promoting environmental awareness through capoeira, music, and dance. EP recording supported through cultural funding.
• Fishing Communities (22 localities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoastal fishing communities directly involved in conservation work, providing bycatch data, participating in research, and benefiting from social inclusion programs generating 30+ jobs.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Fauna & Flora International: Long-established UK-based international conservation NGO with marine, terrestrial, and species programs across 40+ countries. Comparable in longevity, foundation structure, partnership-led conservation model, and educational programming.
• WWF-Brasil: Brazilian arm of the global WWF network, operating across marine, terrestrial, and freshwater conservation with corporate sponsorship, government partnerships, and visitor engagement. Broad incumbent comparable to Tamar in funding model and Brazilian footprint but lacking Tamar's species specialization.
• Conservation International Brazil: Brazilian operations of Conservation International working on marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems with corporate partnerships and policy influence. Comparable in non-profit structure, Brazilian footprint, and corporate-sponsor funding model.
• The Ocean Conservancy: Major U.S.-based ocean conservation organization running research, policy advocacy, and volunteer programs (e.g., International Coastal Cleanup). Comparable in marine-policy influence, public engagement, and corporate sponsorship model, though broader in scope and U.S.-anchored.
• ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute): Brazilian federal agency for biodiversity conservation managing protected areas and species recovery programs. Closely intertwined with Tamar via Centro TAMAR-ICMBio; comparable as the government-side counterpart for species and habitat conservation.

Direct peers

• Save Our Seas Foundation: Foundation funding marine research, conservation, and education globally with emphasis on sharks and sea turtles. Directly comparable as a species-focused, foundation-structured marine conservation organization with grant-making and educational programming.
• Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Network (WIDECAST): Regional network coordinating sea turtle research and conservation across more than 40 Caribbean nations. Directly comparable in species focus and policy-influencing function, though operating as a network rather than a single foundation.
• Sea Turtle Conservancy: The oldest sea turtle research and conservation organization in the world, focused on green turtle populations in Florida and broader global sea turtle science. Most direct functional peer to Projeto Tamar given identical species-focus, research-driven conservation model, and educational outreach emphasis.

Regional players

• Instituto Mar Urbano: Brazilian NGO focused on marine and coastal ecosystem conservation. Comparable as a Brazilian marine-conservation non-profit with research, education, and community engagement components, though smaller in scale than Projeto Tamar.
• Fundação Grupo Boticário / Fundação Biodiversitas: Brazilian conservation foundations supporting biodiversity protection, environmental education, and protected-area management. Comparable in non-profit structure, Brazilian geographic focus, and mixed research/education model, though not sea-turtle-specific.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ProjetoTamarSC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TVTamar
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundacao-projeto-tamar
• Instagraminstagram.com/projetotamar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Projeto Tamar